Sometimes I Need That

As I’ve mentioned many times in this blog, I have 3 vastly different children. I don’t just mean that they are each unique individuals but also that on any given day they each display widely disparate temperaments and behaviors.

I was reminded this week that my volatile little man is growing up and that is core nature is so very sweet. The fact that he masks this sweetness with an ornery, obstinate, emotional and sometimes angry exterior is befuddling and taxing and irritating.

Contrarian the Librarian typically prefers to do or say the opposite of what you asked. He is smart enough to choose times in which this is funny more often than not. For instance, if Daddy says, “Don’t go snuggle with Mommy!” he will scoot right into my arms and has honestly been this way since he was about 6 months old. He just really enjoys teasing and getting a big reaction from people. He refuses to kiss Grandma because he knows she will pout, then tackle him and plant a thousand kisses all over his head. When I ask him to clean his room, he will invariably say No and then walk to his room and start cleaning.

Of course, he chooses some inopportune times to assert his independence but that is happening less and less as he gets older, thank goodness. Plus, if we play it right, we can get him to do just about anything by admonishing him not to do it. Now if we could just get Sam to be quiet and quit telling him that we are playing him….little turd.

But today I choose to focus on the caring, loving part of Drew’s personality, the part I believe is his true nature if he can just get past his own emotional craziness, rightfully inherited. Some examples:

Drew, Bridget and I went for a scooter ride one afternoon and he was unbelievably patient with his slow poke little sister. He would get about half a block ahead of us, then stand and wait patiently until we got closer, then scoot ahead again. He never complained or urged her to hurry, just kicked at the remaining snow and did a few little BTR dance moves while he waited. I could hear him singing every once in a while but he would quit when we got close. Oh to have had a video camera. But it wasn’t his patience that almost brought me to tears, no, he upped his game when we were about a block from home. He was half a block ahead and yelled “Mom” as I was picking up Bridget’s scooter to carry it for the fifth time. I looked up and he blew me a kiss. Aaaawwwww.

Last night, I let the kids take turns playing games on my computer. Bridget was highly irritating to the boys during their turns, trying to share the chair with them, hitting buttons, generally being a devilish little sister. When it was finally her turn, Drew asked if he could help her. She said “sure” and offered to let him sit on the chair with her. I reminded Drew that it was Bridget’s turn to play and how irritated he had been when she helped him. Without missing a beat, he turned to her and said, “Bridget, do you want me to scratch your back while you play?” You need to understand that back scratching is the height of love for Drew, coming in as a token of love just behind allowing him to play Wii. He prefers to have his cousin Cortney scratch his back because she does it the best and will just go sit near her and casually pull his shirt up until she gets the hint, although he is not afraid to ask for a back scratching either. So there they sat, Bridget playing memory while Drew scratched her back. Aaaawwww.

Drew had one more sweetie-pie moment this week that saved him from getting into trouble. We were on a bike ride yesterday and the boys were having a blast riding through the rivulets of water streaming down a large, open parking lot. Their backs and pants were soaking wet but they were so happy to be outside that I let it go. Bridget was having some trouble pedaling her bike up the hill and was very concerned about getting her pants and shoes wet. Once the boys noticed that she didn’t want to get wet, they started riding as close to her as possible so that their tires splashed her. Not so sweet. During one such pass, Drew accidentally knocked her bike over. Before I could even form a word, he had hopped off, picked her up, and deposited her back on her bike. I was too far away to hear exactly what he was saying but you could tell from his gestures and the look on his face that he was very concerned and was being very reassuring and caring. Bridget started to cry but he got her all settled in and laughing before he took off again. No, it wasn’t a perfect scenario but aaawwwwww for the ending!

Someone remind me to read this post the next time he throws a fit when he has to turn off the Wii at Grandpa’s house or forgets his manners entirely around Aunt Nicole.