IN MY SHOES: What It’s Like To Have Three Sons
Columnist and political analyst Mona Charen, mother to Jon (15), David (13) and Ben (11),
Hard to tell now that he's a relatively sedate 15-year-old, but Jon as a youngster was like a pinball — only less well-controlled. Having lived it, I can spot a hyperactive kid at 500 paces …
Jon also had a variety of developmental difficulties, some of which contributed to a terrible bike accident when he was 10. … Three days later, he emerged from a coma and slowly began to regain the capacity for speech and movement. A month later he was dashing up and down the stairs. …
I once came upon Jon at the top of the stairs seated on a toboggan. He had the ropes in his hands and was ready to go — probably planning to take his little brothers on the second ride. …
Jon's brothers are far more inclined to verbal gymnastics. … They do sometimes get into physical tussles (though far less than in the past), but they now have a sense of humor about themselves. Recently, they were wrestling in the family room, and I called out for David to do something (probably practice one of his instruments). Ben called out, "I'm sorry, David is being pummeled right now. Please leave a message after the beep. BEEP!" …
[A]s my little balls of energy have matured into rangy adolescents with deepening voices and facial hair, who play the trumpet and the bass clarinet, who can do a knife dive into the pool, who amuse each other and their father, and who continue to surprise and delight their mother.
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