Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Fruity Family

Last night, my middle son and I spent nearly an hour and a half struggling through a Social Studies assignment.

For this boy, my little athletic ball of fire, Social Studies is what takes the pizazz out of his school day. It's what makes "the glaze" coat his otherwise bright eyes, and its the book that weighs his backpack down with "unbearable" weight.

There is a test tomorrow and I'm not sure who is dreading tonight more...him, or me. Every fact is a fuzzy puzzle piece whose framework evaporates as fast as it is constructed.

In short, Social Studies never fails to ruin an otherwise happy day, for the both of us.

Imagine, then, my amusement when my oldest had this to say at breakfast this morning.

"Hey Mom! Guess what! They might be getting new Social Studies books next year--which means we might be able to KEEP our books! Isn't that COOL?!

Yes, my boys couldn't have more opposite interests. That makes a referee hat a staple of my wardrobe.

I often wonder what it would be like to have boys with more similar interests. Would they get along wonderfully and get their kicks out of reading a text book for the heck of it? Would they play soccer or basketball together like an all-star team?

But then there wouldn't be these moments that make me giggle inside at their uniqueness.

Although I'm glad God made each boy unique, I'm forever disappointed that he didn't send more clear directions for raising them.

For I am a peach, raising an apple. . . and an orange. . . and some other yet unknown piece of fruit. God has a sense of humor, doesn't he?

2 comments:

Christina said...

Your descriptions of how you and your boys interact never fails to delight me. ; ) May God give you wisdom to teach them to be kind in spite of their vast differences!

Anonymous said...

So true about God's sense of humor in making our children different. He wants to keep us moms on our toes! The word "no" never, ever phased our firstborn. As a toddler it didn't matter how many times or with what intensity you said, "NO!" he would not react. Then came my 2nd child, a girl. You can imagine our surprise when a gentle "No." brought her to tears. Oh how different they are! Thanks for stopping by my blog, and yes, feel free to link to me whenever you want!