Day and Night

As my kids were telling me about their school day yesterday, I was reminded how incredibly different they are. I picked up Carter first, and he wouldn’t say anything for a few minutes. When he finally talked, he said, “Noah made me hit him.” I asked if he got in trouble, and he said no. He eventually admitted that he had. His chin quivered the whole time, and I thought he was going to cry. It wasn’t until bedtime that I finally dragged enough details out of him to put together what might have happened. He would answer every question with silence, followed by a few mumbled words. Bottom line, he was playing too rough and got in trouble.

I went to the other end of the school to pick up Mason, and he ran to meet me as soon as he saw me. He started his story before he even reached me. He gave me every detail about the lockdown they had that day…how he knew it was bad when the teachers were screaming in the hall…how everyone in his class was terrified, except him…and so on. Of course, the ‘screaming teachers’ detail was later retracted when I questioned him about it. But he quickly moved from that topic to the drama of third grade recess. Play-by-play descriptions of who said what and how he reacted to every word.

It’s so funny to watch them grow into the personalities that they’ll have as adults. I’ve already told Mason he should be a trial lawyer. His opening statements are very convincing…and he can argue like nobody’s business. Carter, on the other hand, may have a career in espionage. He practices by hiding in the pantry to eat forbidden snacks. Only time will tell!