My Two Blessings

This morning Mike was home with the kids so I went out and found a few good garage sales. I came home with a bagful of clothes for the kids and a brand-new pair of tennis shoes for Ben for $2. A pretty successful day.

Kyri was napping when I came back but Ben was so excited about the shoes he wanted to wear them. They are a size bigger than his current pair but he thought they were great. He also happily sorted through his other things and wanted to put it all away in his drawers.

I carted everything up to the laundry and sorted it to wash. And when Kyri woke up from her nap, it didn't take long for her to spot new things in the laundry. She found a little skirt I found for her first, then a pink Mariners coat. She has been trying on clothes ever since.

Her dad went grocery shopping today too and when he tried to put things away I could hear her downstairs telling him he was putting things in the wrong places. "Daddy, no. Not there." She is the princess of unloading groceries. I never knew how much I needed a daughter.

I feel fortunate because she is very different from me and thus I'm often caught up with admiration and respect. For my 2-year old. I know. Crazy. But she loves dresses and high heels. I don't. She is full of industry, always wanting to clean, help me make dinner, and help around the house. I'm on the lazy side. She loves lavishly, showering us with hugs, kisses and "I love yous." My grown up self has learned to hold my cards a little tighter. She is completely unafraid of physical injury and throws herself into play with such wild abandon, it terrifies me. I hate sports because I don't like to get hurt or dirty. This girl is covered with bruises, but we rarely hear her cry from pain.

Ben and I are two peas in a pod. I understand Ben. He is physically lazy, but academically motivated. His mind is always preoccupied and therefore he rarely hears a word I'm saying. I'm thankful for him and continuously amazed at how deep his mind is. He says things I would say. (And sometimes that isn't what you want to hear.) He would like to stay in his pjs all day and tries to tell me he doesn't "need" to get dressed. (And I totally relate to the argument.) Meanwhile, Kyri has been up and dressed (on her own) for hours.

Ben will be in sports this summer. Mainly because I know that in a year or two he will start to be more self-aware and figure out he isn't as gifted athletically as he is academically. I want him to have some skills and learn to enjoy sports before he knows that. And then maybe he won't face all the fears I've had at every social occasion where any kind of sport was being played. I have no doubt the child will excel academically. That world always came easy to me; it was all the practical skills that make me tired just thinking about them.

Last week Ben entered the world of volunteerism and helped out at the food bank with his dad. He worked for two hours helping people get food from the dairy case. I was pretty happy his dad thought he was old enough to help out and though he won't go regularly, he is getting a taste of helping others.

Both Ben and Kyri are true blessings, different in so many ways. They are good friends. As I've been writing, I could hear Kyri saying, "Ben, where are you?" They have just started to really beat on each other and I hate it. But I've learned to back up and let them learn to work a few more things out on their own. But I continually remind them that they are each other's best friends and they need to treat each other with kindness. And there is nothing better than coming upon the two of them playing together, bantering back and forth. I couldn't be more blessed.