Not Like the Other

As a mom to three children of the same sex, I am fascinated by the differences and nuances in each of their personalities. They have all been raised in the same household, by the same parents and with the same rules, but they are all so their own persons.

It is a true nature versus nurture experiment played out before us.

I know we aren't supposed to compare our children and I honestly try to keep my comparisons to myself, but there are times that I simply can not help myself.

Each night I snuggle up with each boy alone, to talk about their day before they go to bed. While Aidan loves to talk to me, he prefers we discuss his current obsession, be it Star Wars, legos or some obscure scientific thing he read somewhere. We have spent the last three weeks dissecting each and every part of every. single. Harry Potter book and movie, including which character I would most like to be, which spell is the coolest, which part is the scariest, our favorite scenes and well, I think you get the picture. He has always been like this, our Aidan. It started with Toy Story (he used to carry around the empty dvd case of the Toy Story movie when he was one), moved onto Thomas the Tank Engine (he slept, ate, and took the vehicle "Jack" from Thomas with him everywhere we went and even wanted to name Brennan "Jack"), and then moved onto Star Wars and Legos. I'll admit that at times it is cute, his obsessive way of reviewing and categorizing his interests, but there were times when I just wanted to hear about his day, his friends, his life at school and I came up empty. But this is our Aidan, a boy with an intense focus on a single issue that makes him an almost unstoppable force.

So you can imagine my surprise when Brennan started kindergarten and our nights involve him sharing every single thing that happened to him in his day, and well, everyone elses. It is like a virtual play by play in the life of a kindergartner. I know who is behaving, who had their name up on the board ("John again, Mom! "He is an 'imperuppter' (interrupter) and doesn't listen at all!"), who likes to talk (Chatty, Chatty Mia Mom. All she does is chat, chat, chat all day long!"), who to avoid, ("Momma, there are two Caitlins - nice Caitlin who I like and pincher Caitlin who likes to pinch me during circle time") and who is out of class. ("Today Momma, Charlie is sick and Claire is in Vegas.") I can not believe the amount of information that comes flowing out of Brennan's mouth the minute I sit upon his bed. It is like he is storing it all up for me and can not wait to release it. I spend most of the time listening and laughing at his dramatic reenactment of his day. He has only been part of his class of 18 children for three months, but I already feel as if I know each and every classmate by his detailed descriptions.

I know in many ways my boys are more alike, than they are different, but it is the differences that fascinate me. It is those little nuances that make each of them a unique, lovable, individual of a boy that are all mine to love.