A few weeks ago, the boys painted dolphins with their wonderful Aunt Christie.
The differences between the two were never more apparent. One of them painted it "normal" colors, so that it would look exactly like a dolphin is supposed to look. He stayed in the lines and put his whole heart into making it look perfectly like a "real" dolphin.
The other used every single color, and even mixed them. He made swirls and designs and let the creative juices flow. He put his heart into creating a dolphin on his own terms.
I reflected on the differences again when we were in the midst of Lego building after Alex's birthday.
One of them takes HUGE joy in following directions and creating something that looks like the picture. Then he spends hours examining every little feature, and explaining its use and value. Oh, how I love his rule-following, stay-within-the-boundaries, student-council-representative soul.
The other? He admired the finished creation. He carried it around for a while and played with it. Then he said, "Mama? Can I take this apart and make something better?"
Sure, JJ.
And I love that one for his bend-the-rules, push-the-limits, creative soul.
1 comment:
I love your descriptions of the boys' personality traits. We HAVE to get our kids together sometime. Maybe it's a birth-order thing, but Hannah is all about following the rules/instructions and Katie is all about making things her own.
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