So Very Different

My husband and I are raising both our children in basically the same manner. They have the same bedtimes, the same routine, the same breakfast options. But, for how much they are occupying the same home and abiding by the same rules, our children are starkly different from one another.

I don't know why I find this so intriguing. My brother and I are polar opposites. He is two years old than me and he is a creative genius . He can create amazing art and he is musically gifted. Me? I draw stick figures poorly and cause my children to ask, "What's that sound?" when I sing out loud in the car.

My son is 9 and almost exactly two years older than my daughter. He is much

Then - 2006

more mellow than she is. He has big emotions for such a little guy. He ponders things and asks big, thoughtful questions that have me running to Google almost daily. He is oblivious to the girls tripping over one another to sit by him at lunch though he says one day he will probably have a wife and some kids. At the moment, girls are not his thing. He just wants to hang out with his buddies and have good times.


At 7 my daughter is all vim and vigor. Her voice reaches tones that unsettle the canine world. She tests her boundaries daily. I have told my husband that I don't want to break her spirit but I would like to reign it in a little. She is feisty! She is realizing that she is no longer a baby and she doesn't like it. In moments of calm she will still climb into my lap to cuddle. She is a tiny thing but I know these  moments will become more infrequent.

And Now

What is odd is that at school my son becomes an extrovert and my daughter is immensely shy. In looking back at my own childhood I recognize that I was very much like my daughter.  I was outgoing at home and painfully shy out in the world. I work with my daughter on her confidence because I would not wish my level of shyness on my worst enemy let alone one of my most precious gifts.

For all their differences my kids are great friends. They do fight like siblings but their love for one another is apparent. They are very protective of each other, except when they are trying to poke each others eyes out. They follow the thought that says, "I can be mean to my sibling, but you better back off!"

My brother and I have become great friends as we have gotten older and I hope my kids maintain their friendship. I hope they always appreciate the differences between them and also the similarities. I hope they will have each others backs out in the world. And, I hope they remember their childhood fondly. My wish is that they look back and reminisce, "remember when Mom used to sing in the car? That was painful right?" Ah, good times. Good times.