Song Of The Day 6/19/2012: Middle Brother - "Middle Brother"

I sometimes worry about my second child, Hank, who's now been a middle brother for four months. The wild emotional swings in his actions sometimes makes him do things that wholly endear him to me mere minutes after he's done something to drive me up the wall. And vice versa. But his spirit is beautiful. My heart breaks whenever I can tell that his spirit's been broken, and feel terrible if the reason for that breakage comes from one of my admonitions. I mean, you know -- it's just a crayon mark on our hallway wall. It's not genocide.

This song -- one of my absolute favorites of this decade -- obviously always makes me think about Hank. It's a hilarious lyric, but it resonates particularly deeply when I think of my son. I wonder if he thinks he's a victim of bad timing: Does he feel that his middling status has made his own ambitions less relevant to his parents? What will he do to overcome it? What will that motivation lead to when he has to do things like get a driver's license and choose a career? The kid's got to be going through all sorts of re-evaluations -- or whatever 4-year-old boys do in existential crisis mode. I need to be more holistic and objective about him. Out of all my children, I most want Hank to know, embrace and enact what he believes to be his place in this world.

I love you, son. I could do without the wet sand being hurled on the sliding glass door and the poop issues, but I appreciate the inspiration. Let me know if you need anything.