Have you ever read the book Marley and Me? Maybe you saw the movie version with Owen
Wilson and Jennifer Aniston. If you
haven’t, I recommend reading the book and watching the movie. Both are stellar. That being said, what the movie didn’t
explain as well as the book was how John Grogan felt about his dog Marley and all
his previous dogs. I remember reading a
portion of his book where he explained he had had many dogs in his life. All of the dogs were amazing pets and he
loved each and every one, but none of them gave him stories to tell quite like Marley. Marley’s ridiculous behavior always made for
a good story at the water-cooler.
Please don’t take this the wrong way, but this is
how I feel about my two boys. They are both
amazing kids. They each have very
distinct personalities and as they age, their uniqueness makes me smile. However, we tend to have one son who keeps
our “que of ridiculous stories” full and up-to-date!
True stories.
Stranger than fiction kind of stories.
I-hope-when-he-graduates-from-high-school-I-don’t-have-store-bought-hair
kind of stories…
To give you a better indication of their
personality traits here’s a little example…
We switched churches about six years
ago. While the husband and I were at
church, the boys would attend Sunday School.
Every Sunday after church when we would go pick the boys up, our older
son’s teachers would say things like “We had so much fun with your child
today! He is such a great kid to have in
class! Looking forward to next week!”
Then we’d go get our younger son, to which
the frazzled looking teacher (who looked stunning less than 45 minutes ago…)
would force a grin and say, “He did better…”
See why wigs are in my future?
These are my kiddos. Total opposites.
My older son (who I will be calling PW) is your
typical first born who follows the rules, gets along with others and is always
nicely dressed and groomed. When it
comes to fitting in socially, he has no problems. I NEVER have to worry about emails
or phone calls from the school with this kid.
This isn’t to say he doesn’t have an ornery side – he does, but he keeps
it in check. He has a GREAT sense of
humor and it keeps getting better as he gets older. He has understood sarcasm from a very young
age (something I appreciate!) and lately he has even started using sarcasm with
me (something I LOVE!!) One thing about
him that truly stands out is his heart for small kids. He listens to them, finds out what they like,
and then plays along. He has a book
buddy at school that he painstakingly plans for each week before their “reading
dates.” He makes sure he has just the
right book for his little friend. He
also has a younger cousin he ADORES. The
two of them can play for hours and though there is about seven years between
them, you’d think they were best friends.
He worries about what’s right and wrong and is most definitely a people
pleaser. I rarely have to worry about
his personal appearance/hygiene. Most days,
he takes more time in the bathroom than I do!
He is very particular about his clothes and his hair. Recently he has been experimenting with
cologne. I’m not sure how to describe
our issues with that other than we’re still working on proper application so as
not to fumigate the family…
Now, take everything I just wrote about PW and
reverse it. That will give you a start
on our little Junior.
Though we often find him hysterical, it isn’t
because he it trying to be funny. In
fact, rarely is he making an attempt at humor.
The child has no filter whatsoever.
If he thinks it, it comes out of his mouth. He has a very mechanical/engineering
mind. He loves taking things apart and
putting them back together. I am always
amazed at his level of concentration when he is working on a project. He LOVES Legos. If you give him a box of Legos he will work diligently
(without even so much as a bathroom break) until his creation is complete. What I love about his mind in regards to
Legos is that he will follow the rules the first time as he assembles them, but
then afterwards he will create his own stuff that in my opinion is equally as
impressive. He also loves to create
things out of paper towel rolls, construction paper, boxes, etc. You name it.
I NEVER have any tape in my house and I usually can’t find the
scissors. He too has a heart for others,
but in a different way than his brother.
For instance, he also loves his younger cousin, but instead of giving
him playtime, he gives away his toys. I
feel like we make many trips to my in-laws to give gifts Junior has decided his
little cousin now must have. He has a great
need to see fairness take place in the world - particularly in the classroom
and on the playground. Though many times
I think his heart is in the right place, his actions are not. He tends to be a bit impulsive in enforcing
the “justice” he sees fit. Therefore, I
am a “frequent receiver” of emails and calls from the school. When it comes to personal
appearance…there truly aren’t words.
There is no telling what clothes he will pick from his closet or how
amazingly dirty he will get them five minutes after clothing himself. His hair is usually wild and fluffy, his
shirt a mess, his pants (if any) will have holes in them and his shoes will
flop on and off as he walks. If he is
just hanging out at home, there is a good chance I will find him with just one
sock on. (I have yet to understand this
habit and I doubt I ever will). He also
has a VERY unfortunate characteristic of smelling like dog poop.
This, in so many words, is my two boys.
Since this blog is based on wacky conversations I
have with my kids, here are two conversations that truly set my boys apart and
can give you a peak into the way their mind works…
For PW:
My
people-pleasing-PW likes to use the “talk to type” option when he Googles
something. However, every time he asks
for help, he also thanks “Google”. For
instance:
PW: Google, find me pictures of monkeys
(pause as Google pulls up the pictures…)
PW: “Thanks Google. I really appreciate your help!”
And this is
how it goes every time! My kid is so
polite, he thanks his technology.
For Junior:
We had this
conversation a few weeks ago…
JUNIOR: Mom, guess what? I got sick at school today…
ME: Did you throw up or was your
tummy just upset?
JUNIOR: No, I didn’t throw up. I just felt bad. I think it’s because I ate my pencil or
because it was Spanish time. I think
Spanish makes me sick.
ME: Huh. Okay…
Sometimes
there just aren’t words...
If I was a smart woman, I’d start investing in a
wig company now, don’t you think?
So, now you’ve been introduced. No doubt the conversations by Junior will
have little logic and lots of crazy. PW
is still comical, but is closer to “normal” as far as kids go. Both are great kids who make me smile and
laugh regularly. I hope they will do the
same for you as well.
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