The circle of life

When you have more than one child you begin to see a pattern in childhood behaviors. The pattern shows that yes, all kids are special and individuals, but they are also all pretty much the same. In some ways boys and girls are different, in some ways, not so much. My boys are my oldest two kids. The girls are the younger two. The boys have both lost quite a few teeth. My six year old has lost her first two. So far the idea of losing a tooth has been quite traumatic for all of my kids. Once the first one is gone it isn't quite so bad for the second one, but its funny how they all act the same. The younger kids have at least learned from the oldest that it isn't that bad.

Now we have moved once again into the "I am afraid of all things that fly because they might be a bee" stage. The boys are laughing at their sister and think she is being ridiculous. How quickly they have forgotten that they too used to run screaming from the front door to the car and refused to do anything that involved the outdoors. Last night, getting ready for church, I told her she needed to wear shorts because it was going to be hot. She told me she needed to wear jeans just in case she slapped at a bee and it tried to sting her. My wonderful motherly advice--wear shorts and don't slap at any bees.

I hear words coming from their mouths that I know I have heard before, just from a different face. I just hope I am learning fom each chance I get to answer the same question, hear the same joke and solve the same problem. I have learned that even though it may be the same problem, the solution isn't necessarily the same because none of my kids are the same. I heard some one say once "I treated my kids exactly the same I don't know why they turned out so different." What works for one doesn't always work for the other. My kids said they wanted to all be treated exactly the same until they realized that meant none of them could drive until the youngest one could. The oldest said he didn't want to wait until he was 24 to learn how to drive.
May be we are all learning something on this ever-changing, but still the same, roller coaster ride of life in a big family.