Introducing: The Boy

Wen: I can't just publish that; I can't just throw "The Boy" in there without any introduction!
Suz: Sure you can. It's been a year since you've posted. It's not like anyone's reading it.

Funny comment, I agree. And basically harmless. Unless, of course, such words are spoken to a neurotic wannabe that has difficulty thinking anything is good enough and consequently has trouble getting started (but apparently no trouble whatsoever typing really long-ass sentences).

However, I digress.
Please allow me to introduce The Boy.

The Boy is Suzanne's son. He would in all probability be my stepson if Suzanne and I were afforded the same rights as heterosexual couples, but... let's not go there. The point is, I've been a part of Suzanne and The Boy's lives since he was barely 13. He's now approaching 21. Nearly eight years. Eight years, 4 of high school, 4 of college. In the very beginning I was able to occasionally assist him with Algebra; we would horse around and arm wrestle. We argued over how he left dishes and clothes all over the house because I'm something of a neat freak (I'm sorry, Boy.) Too quickly, though, he became too strong for the arm wrestling to be anything other than a joke. I called off the horsing around when it began to hurt. And he's so damned smart that it didn't take long at all before his classwork far exceeded any lessons I learned in high school 20 years before.

We've had an unusual relationship, The Boy and I. Part parent/child, part friend. And I could not be more proud of him if he were actually my own. As he has grown over the past several years, The Boy has become the most amazing young man. Intelligent, funny (he has Suzanne's sense of humor with more than a touch of his dad's dry wit thrown in), talented, charming, handsome... and increasingly independent. It was a difficult transition when he went away for college, and I suspect it will be even more challenging once he graduates and really sets out on his own. But I'm looking forward to it, too. I can't wait to see where his path will lead. And I'm grateful to be a part of the experience... part of the family.