Josie just made me some of the best banana pancakes I've ever had.  Zack makes the best pancakes in the world, but Josie's were dam fine griddlecakes.

I took one bite and said it was official; three out of four of my kids are good cooks.

Zack is like his dad; kitchen mensa.  These guys have never followed a recipe because they don't have to.  Throw them in a kitchen and they'll root through the cupboards and fridge and make something great out of whatever they find.

Katie doesn't like to cook, but whenever she does, her dishes come out spectacular.  The year I was pregnant with Josie, Katie made all our Christmas cookies and they were every bit as good as mine ever are.  I'd been honing that craft for thirty years.  Katie was 11.

Josie doesn't cook too often, but so far everything she's tried was excellent.  Except for that one batch of brownies she and Meg made where they forgot the eggs.  I blame Meg.

Then there's Tyler.  My oldest doesn't even like to eat, much less cook.  He's one of those rare individuals who only eats because of that whole "staying alive" thing.  To him, meals aren't the highlight of his day, something to be looked forward to with mouth watering anticipation; they are an annoyance to be suffered; an inturruption of whatever it is he'd rather be doing.  Not really surprising that he turns none of his ample store of energy or intellect towards the culinary arts.

Katie would claim that his store of intellect is taxed to the limit by his constant quest to find new uses for the word "poop" but that's just the sort of thing that younger sisters always say.

Now Tyler lives in a galaxy far, far away.  He can no longer count on his Dad or his Grandma (also a world class cook) to keep him fed.  As a young man on his own, he is responsible for feeding himself and it's not so easy.  First of all, it wouldn't surprise me if he makes do on one meal a day, which isn't enough.  Fortunately, he loves Texas cooking so I'm pretty sure he at least eats something every day.  Unfortunately, he isn't remotely interested in mastering the grill himself.  He called me the other night to get the recipe for Sloppy Joes.  I told him; ground beef, package of mix, small can of tomato paste, water.  Directions on the seasoning pack, can't really go wrong.

Apparently I have no imagination.

Turns out when you aren't paying much attention and you use a can of tomato sauce instead of paste, things can go terribly wrong, indeed!

He called me to tell me that his sloppy joes turned out poopy.

Shut up, Katie.

Because Tyler isn't bothered by the mundane problems that beset the rest of us, he was Rep. of the month for the second month running at work.  All the energy that the rest of us channel into feeding our faces, he uses to his advantage elsewhere.  It's kind of inspiring, actually.  There's no telling how many great painting I'd have made or great books I'd have written, much less read, if I hadn't been distracted by my love of chocolate chip cookies.

Oh, well, like everyone else, I have to live with the choices I've made.

Jay's team won again this weekend.  It was an odd game.  We missed more lay ups and free throws in the first half than I've seen in a long, long time.  We were actually down a point at half.  Not to worry, the Mavericks are always a second half team.  Sure enough, the second half started and without really knowing how it happened, we were up by twenty.  Most of us in the stands were more concerned with the oddity on the bench; all the coaches were wearing big, ugly sneakers with their suits.  Now, you have to know that the Mav's coaching staff is mostly guys who care about how they dress.  Jay and Ron, his right hand man, would never sport gym shoes and suits.  Sure enough, it turns out they were doing it as part of a national cancer awareness thing. 

Also this week, Josie got her report card. 

"Did she get any Cs?"  Zack asked.

"No."

"Any Bs?"

"No."

"Any A -s?"

"No."

"What a freak."

Big brother's are just as supportive as younger sisters, it turns out.