He’s 13 now
dyed his beautiful long blonde hair 
black
and his fingernails
black
and this year in his Christmas stocking
more nail polish–purple eggplant, sapphire blue and black.
He prefers 5B drumsticks–
better for a larger than life sound,
will use 5A if he’s not just banging away loud loud loud.
He still likes to sleep over sometimes on the couch nearby
with a light on
lets me read him his 3 favorite storybooks:
The Story of Ping, Russell the Sheep, Amos and Boris
which is about the unlikely friendship of a whale and a mouse–
He says ok Mimi you can read to me if YOU want to…
still falling asleep before I finish–
the perfect time to kiss him lightly on the forehead.