impressed, excited, inspired

I drove 6 hours last night with Oldest. A friend of his was in a car wreck and unhurt but stranded far from home. He fully intended to rescue this friend but had asked me (at midnight) to google map where she was - so that he could find her.
Oldest drives a ten year old Honda that we inherited from his grandmother. It's the kind of car that is starting to cost money but isn't worth selling, and it probably isn't very safe. Couple this with my intuitive knowledge that Oldest would not do well on this kind of journey without a co-pilot to help with directions and I found myself volunteering to do the drive with him and collect the friend.
I don't tell you this because I'm boasting about the "good deed."
I mention it because Oldest likes to rescue people and I admire it in him. I suppose it is as simple as him wanting to be needed or as complicated as his attraction to challenging people, but its base is the desire to do good things for other people. I admire it.

Middle got an A for his sax solo last week. He was amazed and I was in tears. I'm particularly proud of him because I made him prepare the solo and hounded him for months to practice it. I knew all along that he would never have been motivated to work on the piece without my nagging and he still played it very well. The judge wrote great things about his intonation and expression, a nice reward for struggling through Beethoven against one's will.
In the meantime, he is working very hard on a film for an online competition. Each night he is excited to show K how it's progressing. His university course ended last week with the teacher offering to write a letter of recommendation for him. His passion for learning is infectious right now and I'm enjoying his enthusiasm. He has been quiet and contemplative for 17 years - seeing this spark in him is thrilling to me.

Youngest has become a card trick master. Working with an ancient book, procured at a yard sale, and several decks of cards, he has stunned each of us with his skill.
Each of my boys has passed through this magic/card trick phase. We have been patiently watching these kinds of tricks for many many years (due to their age spans), but no one else has succeeded in impressing us as Youngest has. His spiel, his mannerisms, his fluid long fingers are well suited to card shuffling - his brothers were never as adept.
But the excellent tricks are only a piece of what is exciting about him right now. What's really exciting is seeing glimpses of the young adult he's becoming. He surprises us all the time - he likes techno music and is all about shirts with collars and tight jeans, neither of his brothers were interested in either, and we have no idea where the interest in techno/dance music came from. He's forming more solid friendships and making more determined choices about school and church. Later this spring we will attend his Coming Of Age ceremony, for which he will write a credo. I'm looking forward to hearing it.

Every once in a while, amidst the turmoil of every day occurrences, I have moments where I can see each of them with wonderful clarity. This is one of those moments.