It’s that noisy time of year again

As we listen to the explosions of firecrackers out in the street – at least the plumes of smelly dark green smoke aren’t coming into the house – D. and I wondered how different the obnoxious kid across the street might be if R. and I had been the ones to adopt him. True, his parents are probably way more supportive of his athletic talents than we would have been, and it would be a shame for him to miss out on that. Nevertheless, our house is quiet and filled with books; his is kind of an empty shell because he and his brothers have trashed it. And I think he’d do better in numerous ways if his parents were giving him more structure and higher expectations.