(remembered from Winter 2008)

Joseph was 12 years old at the time, almost 13. He is almost 15 now, and continues to live in a sea of awesomeness…

Joe, or Joey as we call him sometimes, is extremely intelligent, almost to the point of being that type of socially awkward smart guy. But I think he is saved by his big heart. Some of the “socially awkward but super smart guys” I know are good people, but they have more important things going on. Empathy, sympathy, and emotions of that nature are lost on them. Not because they don’t understand them, but because they have better things to do. Joey, on the other hand, cares. If one of his little brothers is sick or hurt, he has never had a problem jumping in and helping to care for them. When Hayden was four and home from preschool, he would ask when Joey got home from school on a daily basis. Why, you ask? Because Joey would play with him and focus his attention on him. Joey let Hayden know that his big brother was there for him and that he would play and take care of him. To be honest, it was and is pretty darn cool.

Occasionally, Joey will say something so funny that it becomes a part of our family’s vocabulary. Sometimes this is intentional. Other times not so much. For instance, Corey and Joey were wrestling around one day. I think Corey was about eight, and Joey was six or seven. Corey somehow got Joe face down on the carpet, and we heard the two of them scuffling and laughing, etc. That lasted a few minutes until Joe yelled…

“OW! My face!”

Now, I know what you’re thinking - Hang on! The kid could have been hurt and here you are making light about it. So I admit, my first thought was, “Oh no! Joey has a bloody nose or is hurt somehow.” But a few seconds later, after Corey let up, Joey popped up and yelled…

“Ha! It worked!” Only to jump right back into the fray.

So, after making sure he was okay, Roy and I burst out laughing. It was the way he said it, so loud and convincing, only to then tell Corey he was just kidding, so he could get the upper hand was a hoot. So every so often, someone in the house will yell, “OW! My face!” and we all laugh about it.

More recently Joe was in the kitchen with me. I was washing the dinner dishes, and Joe was taking his turn drying. I think we were just shooting the breeze, kidding around, talking about school and friends. When Joey said to me…

“Mom, you know I am going to have to tell my friends that I am up to my neck in a sea of awesomeness.”

I stopped and thought for a second, not positive what I had heard.

“What did you say?” I asked, barely able to restrain myself.

“Mom, you heard me, I am up to my neck in a sea of awesomeness.”

And I lost it, how funny was that! Not only was that funny, it was witty. Yes, I know they mean the same thing, but in the world according to Christina, funny could be stupid funny, while witty has that subtle ring of intelligence to it. Adam Sandler funny. Stephen Colbert witty. Will Ferrell Anchorman funny. Will Ferrell Stranger Than Fiction witty. See there is a difference. I was laughing, and I think I might have snorted once or twice, so Roy came out of his office to see what was going on.

“You okay there, honey? You alright.”

“I’m fine… Joey and I were washing… hang on… we were washing dishes… and Joey just came out and said… wait a sec, he said…” I couldn’t stop laughing, so Roy turned to Joe and asked what was going on.

“Seriously Dad, I don’t know what is going on with mom. We were cleaning up and I just told her that I was up to my neck in a sea of awesomeness.” Joe said in a serious tone.

Roy stopped, just like I did, and then started laughing.

“See, I told you it was funny!” I managed to get this out between peals of laughter.

“Nope. Yeah, you’re right. That’s a good one.” Roy patted Joey on the back and continued to laugh.

Hearing the hoots and hollers from the kitchen, the other boys came charging in - Corey was carrying Dean, and Addi and Hayden came bounding down the stairs.

“What’s going on?” Corey looked lost, and Dean was just trying to shove his fingers up Corey’s nose.

Roy told them what Joey said, and while it sailed over Addi and Hayden’s head, Corey got it and the laughter in the kitchen went up a few more notches.

The laughter stopped after a few moments, frankly my sides wouldn’t take it any longer, but that was such a good line that we still use it. Whenever we look particularly hot, whenever we do something especially cool, we just let everyone else know that we are swimming in a sea of awesomeness. Meanwhile, Joey has moved on to an ocean.