Personalities

Everyone tells me that your first and second born children always have the most different personalities. Now, I don't know about my older brother and me - sure we have our differences, but all three of us are pretty much on the same track (Mom, correct me if I'm wrong). But I have seen in play out in other families (Monica and Paul maybe?), and I am currently seeing it play out in our own family. I've noticed it for quite awhile, but never before has it come out in such a visually obvious way as it did tonight while the boys were playing with Duplos. Max was busy at work on his castle, complete with turrets, pillars, a matchbox car, a beast of burden, there were no limits to the possibilities.



Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Lucian was working just as hard on his creation...



Rectangles. Everything was orderly, every block had its proper place. Lucian is already showing himself to be the polar opposite of his brother. Where Max is footloose and fancy free, Lucian is an organized planner. Max could walk through a room ten times before finding what he is looking for; Lucian will walk right to it. Max would never even notice if the house is a mess; Lucian is a compulsive cleaner.

He even cleaned up our popcorn bowls for us last night during the movie! He stacked them up, carried them downstairs, and set them on the table. I don't know what to do with this child so unlike myself... so unlike anyone else in this house. If he keeps it up, I fear that the rest of his family will drive him up a wall! In the future, I'm envisioning a tape line down the center of the boys' room ("You keep your stuff on that side of the line, Max!") or the living room ("You keep your stuff on that side of the line, Mom!").

I am in awe that we could have created two such unique characters- I would have thought all of our kids would have personality traits from one of us or the other, but thus far it is so not so. It's exciting, and a little terrifying... If Max can be an extrovert and Lucian can be a neat freak, what could Audrey turn out to be??