This week, let's take it down a notch

There were lots of big changes in the world last week — from the fall of Eric Cantor to the collapse of Iraq — but nothing compared to the big changes in the Miele household.

So this week, I’ll take it down a notch from the usual political fireworks and write about something really important — my family.

Our oldest son, Carmen, just graduated from Glacier High School amidst much pomp and circumstance (no, really!) and will be heading to the University of Montana in the fall to study physics.

As an ex-Grizzly myself (albeit one without a degree) I was not unhappy about that decision, although I have to keep asking him where he picked up his ability to do calculus. Not from me certainly!

While quite low-key, Carmen has dedicated himself to his goal of becoming an astrophysicist and will no doubt do whatever it takes to succeed in his chosen field. He’s off to a good start by winning the Shallenberger Scholarship awarded by the physics department to a promising freshman, and we couldn’t be prouder of him.

He’s turned into an amazing man with a remarkable capacity for empathy that complements his intelligence nicely. Now if we could just get him to wake up on time!

Meanwhile, Carmen’s younger sister, Meredith, has blossomed into a beautiful young woman and will be entering Glacier as a freshman in the fall. Not to be outdone by Carmen, she is enrolling in the new four-year Engineering Academy and is proud of the fact that she also can make me look stupid by asking me to help with her algebra homework. (For the record, I used to be a math whiz, but that was a long time ago, and for some reason never did include calculus.)

Not sure at all what Meredith will wind up doing because she is multi-talented, with strong abilities in the arts, science and history. She is also much more adaptable than either Carmen or me. Maybe that means she will become a teacher like her stepmother Yuzhao! Whatever Meredith does though, she will do it with passion and insight.

Which brings us to the smallest guy in the family, Huzhao (or Tiger as we sometimes call him). Honestly, almost every day brings a big change in Huzhao. Being just 3 years old, he is constantly exploring his world and coming up with some utterly fresh take on what I thought was yesterday’s business. Playing hide and seek with Huzhao, for instance, has evolved from a genuine effort at staying unseen by me into a verbal game where we both pretend he is hidden (even though we both know he isn’t) so that he can describe his hiding place to me through a series of clues that lead me closer and closer to the truth until finally he emerges victorious for his obligatory high five for having successfully navigated me to his side!

If you wonder how a 58-year-old man can possibly stand to have a 3-year-old son demanding his attention and love day after day and night after night, I can only respond that I don’t know what I would do without him!

So there you have it. A world of joy. A world of magic. A world I wouldn’t have if I were not a father, and the very best gift I could possibly have on this Father’s Day or any other day, for that matter.

Thanks, kids. I love you.