How are you and the children doing?
Thank you dearly for asking!
I don't check the computer very often, but when I open it to asks like this, I can't help but smile.
We are all doing as well as we can be. Some days are better than others, of course, but I would say on average our days have more ups than downs. When I was a much younger man I proclaimed that I would never be a father. I couldn't see myself ever having enough bandwidth to parent, and I considered myself too broken to impart anything positive on a child. As the years passed and I grew and healed, my icy feelings towards children thawed. I don't know if you know this but before living on the island I worked at a primary school in the city for some time, and seeing how intelligent, inquisitive, and tenacious our young can be was an inspiration and a half! These children Linus and I have, they make me grateful every single day that my mindset was untethered.
My writer extraordinaire, Sal, flourishes with each passing day. The worlds he holds in his mind... I know only a fraction of what he sees is translated onto the page, but it's enough to blow us away. He has gotten very into children's fantasy as of late, and has been reading to the girls at bedtime. He recently showed me a short play he wrote, about a strained relationship between a child and their parents. It had a tragic ending, and I cried. His future is so bright.
Talia has started down the path of mad scientist. She is mildly obsessed with cross-pollination, and believes she can Frankenstein together different flora to create... something. At first her goal was to create the tastiest fruit out there, but then she was trying to create the LEAST tasty fruit, and then I think she got fed up with Lucy's 'fruit' jokes and moved on to vegetables, and then she learned that vegetable is a culinary distinction and as far as gardening goes doesn't actually mean anything... so I'm not sure what she's doing in those flower beds. It's sure to be devious, though. I can count on Talia to be devious.
Linus, my wonderful Linus. Where to start?
Love is... unlike anything else. Love is him bringing me a mug of Earl Grey in the morning because he's an earlier riser than I am. Love is him covering my eyes during the suspenseful parts of horror movies. Love is a kiss on the temple during the hard days, a reminder that this argument or this struggle is temporary. Every day, I wake up and I thank the universe for sending me Linus. I have had loneliness and I have had companionship and I much prefer companionship. I much prefer Linus.
So in short, and without wanting to risk 'jinxing it', things are going quite well.
