Reflection on E

EDITOR’S NOTE: Welcome to the A to Z Challenge, an exercise in self-flagellation we bloggers inflict upon ourselves to teach us discipline as writers and to build audience. During the month of April, I’ll be posting 26 times, once for every letter in the alphabet. Looking on the bright side, we can each be thankful this is an English language exercise and not Khmer, the language of Cambodia, which sets the world record with a 74-character alphabet! After some misgivings, I’ve decided to proceed with my initial idea of blogging about the special people in my life whose names begin with the appropriate letter. There will be difficulties, like having more than one special person whose names begin with the same letter, forcing me to choose. And then there are those letters — O, Q and X among them — where no name springs readily to mind. What will I do then? We’ll have to wait and see!

Evan, foreground, with his slightly younger cousin, Ethan.

Evan and Ethan

My daughters did me no favors when they gave birth to boys within a few weeks of one another, then gave each a name that begins with E.

It’s a real exercise in senility when you’re thinking of Ethan but say Evan, or thinking Evan but say Ethan, and of course it’s impossible to write an A-to-Z-Challenge post about one but not the other.

Therefore E is for both of my E Street Boys, who will forever be mixed up in my mind, though their differences are readily apparent.

Evan gets acquainted with a watermelon.

Ethan is just as cute as a pea in a pod.

Evan is the firstborn son of my second daughter, and is a native New Yorker, though he has now moved to Virginia. Ethan was born in Maryland, the second son of my oldest daughter and the middle brother to Caleb and Danny, who have already been profiled in this series.

As an outside observer who is also their grandpa, I enjoy watching these two. Evan is a little older and was a lot burlier when they both were small, but the size differential is evening out now. They both like Star Wars and both love superheroes, but there are more differences than similarities.

Evan has darker hair and coloring similar to my own when I was a kid, while Ethan has a fair complexion that goes with the red hair from his father’s side. But when things get crazy and loud, Ethan’s personality better matches my own at that age, as he seems to withdraw a bit and let most of the rambunctiousness pass him by.

Ethan has a little of that James Dean thing going on.

Evan has the infectious smile and flashing, fun-loving eyes.

They’re both good-looking boys. Evan has an infectious smile and flashing eyes, while Ethan seems to have a bit of a James Dean thing going on. I think they’ll both be charmers when they’re older.

You’ve now met four of my six grandchildren, though it will be a little while before you meet the other two. But in the meantime, keep an eye out for my E Street Boys. I know I will!