I have to be honest.  He's not really a beast.  But "Beauty when the 10 year old dynamo of a son, after 12 hours, finally stops asking questions and actually sleeps" isn't nearly as catchy.  And, that is what he is.  A 10 year old boy full of questions, wonderment, "what if" situations, and any other, possible thing you could manipulate into a question format.  And, you are a really skilled 10 year old boy, you can ask the same question about 17 times, only repeating the original format 3 times.  Apparently, it is a gift.  For the 10 year old boys.  For me, it isn't.  And it is something that also wears on my patience.

Until now.  He's off to his first sleepaway camp.  Due to a scheduling conflict with the girl's dance, I can't go and be there at camp drop off. Truth be told, probably a good thing.  Let his Da handle it.  Stink, well, he's over the moon!!  Doesn't really care that I can't be there, he's a man of 1001 questions regarding how this whole camp is going to work.  From toilet paper to tournament, he's got a question for that.

Tonight, though, he came upstairs totally unable to sleep.  I asked him if he might be, just, a wee bit excited about this whole thing and that was why he couldn't sleep.  He shrugged, smirked, and gave a little giggle and then admitted he might be a bit nervous and a lot excited.  I tucked him in on the couch and finished up the laundry required to get him off to camp.  I'll kiss him goodbye and he'll go off without me.  He'll be okay.  He will have a good time.  He will make new friends.  We will survive.  His sister will be annoyed he's back.  And life will come back to normal.

So, my this my little beast, beauty with angel kisses dotting his nose and cheekbones.  For the angels only come in the dark of night to kiss the wee ones, protect them with their love, and leave a tiny mark of a freckle.  Can't wait to see how many angels kiss him while he is gone. DSC_4433 Taken with a Nikon D810 and a  24-70mm f/2.8 lens. Specs:  1/100s, f/2.8, 70mm, ISO 4000.  Edited in Adobe Photoshop along with Totally Rad's Rad Lab.