The best thing about having many kids

For a change, a personal story!

I have four kids. We had two and then we had twins! I often feel a little awkward revealing how many kids I have so I explain right away: we had two, then twins!

I grew up the only child. I guess I’m making up…

A week ago my almost-fifteen-year-old son Valentin decided to dye his hair:

In the meantime, his older brother Max, who is almost seventeen, also had his hair cut. The result is this:

This picture is after his sub 10 min 2-mile race yesterday for his high school. I guess his hairstyle choice is related to his effort to be perfect at running. Or maybe not!

They didn’t by the way coordinate the timing of their haircuts; they are not even in the same state right now. A few years ago when they were younger and were fighting a lot, it would’ve been possible that they deliberately chose to be so different. Now they are just different, as different as they could be. They are unique individuals and decide to express themselves in their unique ways.

I find this seemingly trivial episode in the life of my family profound and…