the thing that strikes me about this picture is the necklace around anthony's neck. i'm struck because it is alex's necklace. it is very much alex's necklace. fact is that necklace proved to be (and continues to prove to be at the time of this writing) a very important token to alex. alex went through a few month stretch of separation anxiety when he was younger, like six and seven. this necklace helped, greatly, to pull him out of that state through a ritual we do to this day, albeit less consistently. how it goes: when we are about to part, alex pulls his necklace out of his shirt and i kiss the backside of it, the side that will sit by his heart. after kissing the smooth glass, i feed the charm back into his collar. i then pull my necklace out (a necklace i've worn everyday since before bella was born) and he kisses its backside. we then do the usual hugs and farewells.

this import and history is why i'm surprised to see anthony wearing it. in thinking about it, while it is a very dear object to alex, alex is also a very compassionate soul so if anthony expressed a strong want (read fit) to wear it (given his adoration of his older brother), alex is the type of guy to pull it from his neck and lower it on his brothers. this would come with an extra-precious explanation of the deal like, "now anthony, this is my very special, very important necklace and if i give it to you you have to promise to be careful with it and not loose it because if you lost it i would be very sad." to this anthony would reply in a serious "ok alex. i will be extra careful. i will not lose it." then for the next hour he'd walk a bit taller knowing the serious charge he's been trusted with.