When I was younger, and dreamed of being married and having a family, I always hoped that I would have a set of boy/girl twins. During the first two years of their lives, I often thought to myself "Next time, be careful what you wish for." That period following their birth is an absolute blur of diapers, formula, and Blues Clues.
Mario is serious, the yin to Annelise's yang. Where she is a creative extrovert, he is a creative introvert. He's a gifted artist-his attention to detail and depth perception are amazing for an 11 year old. Steve likes to tell everyone that the first time he met Mario, the little guy told him he liked drawing oil rigs. When Steve asked why, Mario responded, "Because they're cool." Indeed, he was working on a four foot high, detailed drawing of an oil rig.
When Mario was in Kindergarten, he went through a phase where he wore a suit and tie to school each day. Sometimes a sportcoat, if he was feeling casual. His belt had to match his shoes, ties were carefully matched to blazers. I indulged this (hell, I encouraged it) and would purchase him real silk ties instead of Matchbox cars and Legos to reward him for good behavior. He looked like a little Alex P. Keaton. For his sixth birthday, I bought him a tuxedo. It was quite the spectacle to have seen him walking the halls of the school dressed like that-he was absolutely resplendent. His entire demeanor shifted, he strutted to his classroom-and trust me, the crowds parted as he walked down the hallway. Even dressed in all his finery, Mario was never prissy. He would still run to the playground and roll around just like any other little boy-which made for some interesting dry cleaning bills. I'm sure the folks at the cleaners thought that a very sloppy midget lived in our house. (Consumer tip: there is no price break for children's clothing.) 
He still loves to dress up, but realizes the downside of peer pressure so reserves it for special occasions. Last winter, he and Annelise went with their class on a field trip to the symphony. He insisted I buy him a new suit for the occasion (Did I even hesitate or balk at this request? No.) and when I took him and Annelise shopping, he even picked out her dress. She was picking out pink and purple brightly colored attire that 10 year old girls are typically drawn to, but ultimately deferred to her twin’s fashion expertise. Mario picked out a lovely, understated black dress for her. “Simple, yet elegant.” Those were his exact words. Not long ago, the twins were playing the Sims together. You’re probably familiar with it, but basically it’s a video game where you create these characters, changing their hair, facial structure, and wardrobe and then you watch them...exist. Mario and Annelise got into a fistfight because he hated the way she was dressing his character.
Mario is also ahead of the curve in the romance department. He's already got his eye on a young lady in his class. On the reverse side of his valentine card to her last year, he wrote, “You have my allegiance.” I could not make this up. He asked me if he should write below that, “Seriously.” I told him no, that sentence pretty much conveyed his intentions. He told me he first realized that he liked her because she said something in class that was so smart, “Mom, I…I just couldn’t believe she said something so…so…brilliant. It was like...my mouth just hung open because she’s so smart.”
Mario definitely has a taste for the finer things in life. For the twins' 11th birthday, I took them to Enjoy!, a restaurant next to my office. I conduct many recruiting appointments there, so I've become very friendly with the staff over the last couple years. We showed up for Sunday brunch, because I knew that for $6.95 for each of the twins, I'd be way ahead financially after they were done with "all you can eat" prime rib, bacon, french toast and a chocolate fountain. After we sat down, Julio, the manager came over to greet us and the wait staff was at their attentive best. Mario ordered hot tea for his beverage and was floored when they brought him a wooden box filled with silk sachet tea bags to choose from. I could see the wheels turning in his little mind, and what he was thinking was "This is the life I am accustomed to." No, he's not a McDonald's Play Place kind of guy, this little man is all about fancy living. I had to drag that kid out of the restaurant, he would have been content to spend the entire afternoon making trip after trip to the buffet.
I can't imagine what the future holds for this kid. I'm secretly hoping that his love of art and his penchant for fine clothing will parlay into a lucrative career as a designer...he's already got the name for it.
