Tuesday, March 18, 2014

The Thinker, the Helper, and the Overcomer

My three littles are growing into bigs so quickly, every day I just want to pause and marvel at them.  They each have such big personality, such uniqueness, such individuality.  Even in their tiny bodies I can see the buds of their full-grown persons.  I was thinking today, if I could describe each of them in one word, what would it be?  This is what I came up with:



Jack: The Thinker...or The Planner.
Either would work.  He is a thinker.  He pays quiet attention to everything, and thinks about it, and processes all the implications of it, and at the most random times spurts out some profound depth of understanding on issues I didn't even know he was aware of.  He figures things out.  He plans.  He plans events, plans solutions to problems, plans how to get what he wants.  He is not hindered or discouraged by any obstacle, but will immediately put his thinking brain to use to figure it out.  He thinks about consequences of actions.  He thinks about how to create things he loves.  He thinks about details, and plans on a detailed level.  He thinks about people's actions and what that means about how they feel, and makes a plan to help them feel better when he determines they need it.  He is thoughtful and considerate, with a splash of wild.  He loves to create, and thinks and plans each of his creations; there is a reason for every detail.



Safita: The Helper.
She loves to help.  She queries daily whether the bathroom is dirty yet so she can help clean it.  She screeches for joy if she can help with the laundry.  Her day is brightened if I ask her to set the table or clear the dishes.  She loves to also help her brothers.  She will help Jack with a plan he is thinking up during play time, and she will help Soren find a fun toy.  She loves to take over caring for her baby brother, by feeding him, cleaning him, teaching him, reading to him, and the like.  She is a reader and a story-teller.  She also loves to help hurting hearts with encouraging words and hugs and kisses.  She is tender and sensitive and intuitive. She has a bounce in her step and a flash of light in her eyes and a smile that makes the world melt away.  She is simultaneously a tender flower and fierce tigress.  And she shows her love to those around her by helping. 



Soren: The Overcomer.
He is strong and stoic, patient in the face of much adversity, yet also demanding of his basic needs.  When something defeats him (for instance, a new challenge like the stairs or a misplaced cushion that makes him fall), he will stare down the villain of his defeat, then with a gleam of tenacity in his eye will repeat over and over and over again the same action that caused his fall or failure until he finally conquers it.  He is fearless.  Failure fuels him.  If he encounters an obstacle, he will plow over it rather than go around.  Where Jack faces obstacles by planning, Soren faces obstacles with brute strength by plowing them over.  When he disagrees with imposed decisions about sleep time or which foods should be eaten, he resists with fervor until he overcomes.  If he is not being understood, he will try idea after idea until his communication is received appropriately.  He is sweet and kind and loving, full of ideas and fun mischief, mindful of his parameters, but he will be subdued or stopped by nothing.  He is bright-eyed and full of energy.  Obstacles are his playground of opportunity.  Any challenging situation, he will push through until he has overcome.