There is nobody like this son of ours – nobody! I never stop feeling lucky to have such a wonderfully weird kid. Menzies. (Don’t worry, I think weird is wonderful!)
This morning he made me laugh my head off because he sounded just like John Cleese in Fawly Towers when he was trying to get all of the birds to stop coming to the back door. “Why do you have to come so close to the house? WHY? Go away!” At the time he was wearing a black dressing gown, a black hat, and thongs, and he resembled someone who might have escaped from an asylum a century ago. Menzies.
This afternoon (after I had visited Anthony in the nursing lodge), Son and I had a dreadful argument during which we both bashed our heads against the kitchen door. Menzies.
This evening, Son convinced me to sit down at the kitchen table and talk things through (instead of our usual tactic which, lately, is to avoid each other). Menzies.
We talked about the past, present and future; we talked about Anthony; we talked about everything and, each time I felt we had said enough, Son would ask me to sit down again so we could finish the conversation and reconcile. Menzies.
Anthony named him after his his mother’s brother’s middle name, Menzies, a Scottish Gaelic name that is pronounced Mingus. Menzies.
Everyone just calls him Ming. Menzies.
He is my hero, my conscience, my muse, my prison, my freedom and everything else.
But always, for both Anthony and me, Ming is the best thing since sliced bread!
Menzies.
And he is an expert at turning a bad day into a good day.
Ming
jmgoyder 
What a gift…and what a beautiful post!
He is my best friend but I’m not sure if this is normal!
It’s hard to say Jules…we find our best friends where we need them. Sometimes they are at our own kitchen table and that’s a damn good thing. You have friends outside of your circle of family; it’s not like he’s your only option..which makes the fact that he is your BFF…all the more special. I am happy for you both! And he sounds like a GREAT guy! Well rounded, not afraid of emotion or confrontation or discussion and well…some gal is gonna be mighty lucky to snag him.
I think if he and I were devoid of our other friends (mine and his) it would be a bit claustrophobic but we are both lucky to have lots of friends.
I agree so much with what you say about the gal – so when is she arriving? haha!
wish i had a daughter…i’d fly her over there!
Ha!
This is an awesome family photo! Great post Julie!
Yeah that photo is supposed to be my gravatar but I keep coming up as a devil – oh well!
He is a fantastic teenager and you have every right to be very very proud… and what the hell is normal anyway. 🙂
You are so right – Sharon! Juliexx
I will email you separately about the rat in the spare room (just kidding!)
Awwww, what a nice post!
A bit mushy but oh well!
that was so uplifting. what a good son you have
Yeah – we are lucky!
Thank you for giving Son a name – and what a wonderful one it is. Probably 95% of people get the pronunciation wrong 😉
99%!!
Jules, Ants & Ming – totally unique … and an acronym JAM – great post!
JAM – that’s good!
Awesome!
If we could leave pictures in our comments, I would leave you some sliced break this morning. One can never have enough sliced bread of all kinds.
Thanks for letting me camp out in your blog for a little while. I had a great time and tried to leave my campsite as clean as when I arrived. I’ll be back!
You have left the campsite immaculate – thank you Russel so much for your support and comments! Jxx
Ooops. I see that I would have left you some sliced break but I have no idea what sliced break is. lol
I love son(s), don’t you? Great post about Ming! And glad you let him out of the closet! 🙂
(Hey, Julie – just sayin’ here. My granny thought the same about my uncle, and he went through three wives. just sayin’. How much is too much?)
You know I Texas luv ya!
Aussie love back at ya!
How lucky he is to have a mother like you.
Dunno about that but thanks anyway!
What a wonderful son you have. You have so much to be proud of.
Yes, he is rather incredible!
This is so beautiful dear Julie… Blessing him. He is a nice young man, and son… How proud of for you. Thanks and Love, nia
Thank you Nia – yes we are lucky! Juliexx
Your son looks so much like your husband. I want to bet photos of your husband at the same age make them look like twins. Does he have your facial expressions once in a while?
Unfortunately there are very few pictures of Anthony when he was young!
too busy working
Ming! It’s got a nice ring to it 😀
… it’s still a beautiful life, isn’t it? 🙂
Love
Yes it is a beautiful life!
That’s a beautiful picture and what great communication- to sit down and hash it out, not just once but many times.Good for all of you.i really need to discover more ways to say beautiful..sigh.
Thank you Jane!! Juliexx
We all love weird over here too~~ 🙂 He sounds like a perfect BFF, and nothing wrong with that. Loved seeing this photo enlarged ~ it does show in the corner of my screen tiny – but not on your gravitar. Very special, and son sounds as delightful as his smile in the pix!! xo
Weird is the best!
Thank goodness you have the pronunciation correct. It is certainly pronounced ‘Mingus’ and not Menzies. Even in Scotland, people insist in pronouncing the name as it is spelt.
I had a teacher at primary school who name was Mrs Menzies so I know what the correct pronounciation is.
The other thing about the name is that some people say ‘MinGus’ with a hard G instead of ‘Mingus’ – I guess it’s our fault for picking a difficult name – haha!
Another Scottish surname which is pronounced differently is Dalziel or Dalzell. It is pronounced Dee-ell.
The surname Marjoribanks is pronounced Marchbanks.
Confusing, isn’t it?
Yeah – we watched Dalziel and Pascoe!
Hi,
He sounds like a wonderful son, and I agree with others the photo is great. 🙂
Yes he has his moments!!!
you and your son have the same smile
That’s good – everyone says he looks just like his dad!
This is wonderful. I smiled at the Fawlty Towers reference, and I love, love the working it out part. Great son you have there. My daughter’s a bit like that.
Then we are both lucky!
He is very good looking!!
Oh he will love that when I tell him!
I’ve said this before, and every pic that you include reaffirms it, he is very handsome!
He wants to be the next Sam Worthington!
That boy has a great deal going for him – he has the EQ of wise old soul and the sense of humour of someone who loves life
Wise old soul – yes! Thank you.
Beautiful post! Awesome Menzies! A wonderful blend of you and Anthony!
Thanks Linda!