I concocted this blog post on Christmas morning when I saw that Santa had brought Captain Nerdburger a telescope.  Of course it took me back to the former Captain Nerdburger, who was sitting only a few feet from me opening more college-aged gifts.  Of course both of them together creates some sort of nerdy covalent bond, but it took me awhile to remember to take a similar picture of Ben like I had of Steph many years ago.

It’s really kind of cool I think.  Scotty is more like me, smart but not “academically competitive,” unlike the girls and Ben who all are pretty intense about the science stuff (That’s why Amanda IS a scientist by training, as is her mom, and Steph will be upon her graduation).  It will be interesting to see if Ben’s love of their world is fleeting or it sticks.  Some boys like paleontology and astronomy as

youngsters but it gives way to thinks like sports, girls, and general slacking off.  Oh I know we are just as smart as they are, they just apply it differently.  I think that’s what makes school to them “business” and to us a time to have fun with some classes in between.  Ironically, I hated school and learning, yet between Kindergarten and my doctoral degree I went 28 years.  And as soon as I could tell time I was staring at the clock painfully awaiting the end of class.  I did that all the way through too.  So I see myself paying for every moment, someone like my wife uses that haughty language about “earning” it.

But all and all I hope that he goes the path of his sister and mom.  Scotty and I’s road is clearly a lot harder.  We both would tell you that.  Sure it may “seem” that we had more fun, and we probably did, but life becomes a twisted version of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.”  You’ve presented yourself to not take things seriously, and then you DO have to earn back a better picture of how people view you.   You sometimes have to convince people you are serious or have a brain that functions.  It all however is a life of our own creation, and I have no regrets.

After all, I would much rather talk about something stupid I did that makes me laugh than the finer points of cell division or genetic mutation.  (Well the genetic mutation thing would be pretty cool if were something like Spiderman’s, but you catch my drift)  In our family however it works and is a good balance.  Ben however is the lynch pin, the extra weight that will tip the scales to decide the dominant make-up of our family.  But Scott and I are not too worried.  Ben is ultimately a Tirman male and although we are all smart, we have not lost one yet.  And we are going all in on the boy, who is like having a hand of a pair of 2’s a 6, a 10, and a “go fish” card from another deck.  How could we ever lose?  We are confident he will do just fine.

At least that’s our best and current plan.

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Tommy+