Not really. It’s another month until spring according to the calendar, but this is South Carolina: it’s been in the sixties and seventies all week, and the yard shows it: weeds everywhere.

K and her mother spoke over Skype while E ate breakfast. He was in the room the whole time because of complications with his electronics time — he didn’t have any today. We’re trying a new motivation for sleeping through the night.

Afterward, it was soccer practice — first practice for the spring. We requested the same coach as we had in the autumn, Coach Kevin, and when we arrived for practice, we saw that we weren’t the only ones to request him. So the Boy jumped right in without the shyness that sometimes plagues him in new situations.

Throughout the day, he practiced tying his new shoes. He’s become brand-conscious: he simply had to have Under Armor brand shoes. The price he had to pay? No velcro. He made some progress in the whole process through the week, but it’s still a matter of, “Daddy, I’m in a hurry! Can you tie my shoe?”