The New Guy

Paul has been with us for almost two weeks. He is a nice kid. I love having veteran players at the house. By that I mean players that have been away from home before in hockey programs. He understands the term "make yourself at home" and does so. He is very good with The Boy, attending hockey practices with him, playing video games on request, and teasing him mercilessly. He has quickly made himself a part of our family.

Joel, on the other hand, has never quite achieved that, and I've always felt bad about it. Sure it's his first time away from home, but he's been with us for almost six months now. He's loosened up quite a bit now that Paul's here, and it occurred to me that he probably misses being in the house with people his own age. He has two siblings at home. This has brought us to the conclusion that in the future we should house two players instead of one.

I have been home with Sick Boy for the last two days and have had opportunity to visit with Paul. He went to military school for high school. I have always been curious about why parents would send their kids to a military school and he told me that they just thought he'd get a better education there. His family lives in Chicago. He has a younger brother at home and a half-brother who is quite a bit older.

As we were sitting down to eat last night, MFH says, "So, Paul, you have a younger brother at home?" to which Paul answered yes.

I added, "He also has a half brother."

MFH countered with, "And what's the other half? Sister?"