Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Alike? Different?


It amazes me how alike my four children are. Yet they are so different.

My oldest son was the ugliest thing when he was born. His little face was all pushed to a point. I thought, "Oh my God! He looks like a buck-toothed idiot" But I loved that ugly little baby so much. ( After a couple of hours he was beautifully normal looking.)

He was so tiny... the smallest of all my babies. He also had an extra thumb on one hand.  Leave it to me to have a baby with extra parts.

My second son was beautiful when he was born. He was the personification of that blonde-haired, blue-eyed baby with rosy full cheeks. You know... the kind that people wanting to adopt would look for.

The problem was that for the first couple of days he would not wake up even long enough to eat. When he finally decided he was hungry all he wanted to do was eat. Then he would not burp for me. When he settled into  regular eating schedule I was greatly relieved.

My third son was loooong. He was 23 1/2 inches at birth. He was also lavender. The cord was wrapped loosely at his neck but it was enough restriction of blood flow to affect his color. No lasting damage from it though.

The first time he was brought to me for a feeding I noticed a small spot in one of his blue eyes that looked yellow. His dark hair was a little lighter. By the time I took him home he had green eyes and blonde hair.

My fourth child was my daughter. She was beautiful with dark little ringlets of hair all over her head. And she was the color of a beet. Deep, deep red.

She weighed the most of all my babies. She was an easy baby to care for. She fit wherever I put her which was good because her brother was still a baby himself. She amused herself when she woke up. She would make a little noise to let me know she was awake but was not too concerned if I did not get right to her. (Oh how I came to long for those days.)

As they grew older they had their own personalities. The oldest was born an old soul. He has a strong sense of right and wrong with very little room for the grays in between.

My second son is more adventurous. He wants things to happen for him now instead of waiting. He is generous to a fault.

My third son has a strong love of family Even more than the others. He likes nice things and works hard to provide them for his family. He wanted to be grown from the time he was very young and went headlong into being grown.

My daughter has been an experience for me in ways the boys were not. She was very much a girl in the traditional sense of the word. She was not interested in sports and did not watch television.She did have dance class but will no longer dance.

She is a hard worker. She also provides well for her family. Perhaps because she always knew she has the support and back-up of her older brothers she is very outspoken. She did not speak at all until she was almost a year old. Then she began speaking in sentences and has not shut her mouth since.

As you can see they are so different and unique. But they are also the same.

All of my children are strong willed. They like having things done their way. They are leaders and definitely not followers. Even if the people they are with want to do something my children do not agree with my children either try to change minds or stay out of it.

Of course as their mother I know they are all beautiful. They do not look completely alike but not one of them looks like me. They look like their father.

My oldest is the only one with dark hair. The rest are varying shades of blonde. Blue eyes are for three. The exception is the green-eyed one. My second son is several inches over six feet tall. The other two boys are just a bit under six feet. My daughter (who you will remember was the biggest) is tiny.

They often fight among themselves. Siblings usually do. But no one else is allowed to do so. It will bring on the wrath of all four. Heaven help them.

All four are stubborn. They are quick to anger (like their father) and hold a grudge (like their mother). It is not a good combination.

I simply find it interesting. Siblings have some things in common yet they are still individuals. Does that compare to you and your siblings?

15 comments:

  1. Such a great description of your children. We have a small family, so I didn't see the differences between children until we had two granddaughters. They are so different, yet so alike. It is amazing to me how the familial genetics and environment will produce such unique people. One of the great wonders of the world.

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    1. I appreciate your word "wonder". They are wonders.

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  2. When i was in my early twenties my father told me I would be amazed at similarities with my family members. I shrugged thinking all six kids had a little in common. now I see him in me very much. I have to laugh since my oldest is so much like me it is hard to ever get mad at her.

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    1. Every once in a while I begin to speak and my mother's voice comes from my mouth. It is a shock every time.

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  3. This was lovely. My children were and are still very different. As far as values and attitudes go, though, they are similar. My three siblings and I are all very, very different in temperament, but there are wide gaps in age between us.

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    1. I come from a family of seven siblings. I am the oldest. One of my sisters suffers from middle child syndrome. Poor thing is the middle child of seven. There are four boys... two older than her and two younger. Of the three girls there is one older and one younger. She will be 65 years old in a little over a month and still believes she was adopted.

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  4. We have something in common. Norma and I had 3 boys and then a girl --over a span of 15 years. They are scattered from coast to coast now, some raising families of their own. They are my heroes!

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    1. It is so hard living somewhere so far from your children and grandchildren. I am proud of my offspring too.

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  5. Wonderful descriptions of your children. Me and my sister are nowhere near alike :) as different as the moon and the sun :)

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    1. I would be willing to bet that there are some similarities in there too.

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  6. I only have a daughter. Her head was squished and long from when she was forced into the birth canal. Her grandmother started to cry until she learned that it was normal. The head returned to normal in a few days.
    My bother and I are alike in many ways but very different in others.

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    1. I understand your daughter's grandmother's dismay. I had not ever seen a baby immediately after it was born before. When I saw that ugly little baby I loved it so much and determined to protect it from as much pain as I could. But I was greatly relieved to see him in a few hours because he was beautiful.

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  7. Now I see your children before me, Emma. Having four of them must be so very interesting - I see it with my best friend Anne: four girls, and all very different; and with my sister's three boys: very different too. I have one son - thus I cannot compare, and I find both of us parents in him - and a lot of himself :-)

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    1. That is another thing about my children. They all look like their father. But they have many qualities from both their father and mother. Those are all part of the reason I love them and am so proud to be their mother.

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  8. We have two boys and a girl. The oldest boy looks like my wife but has my temperament. The younger boy looks like me but has his mother's temperament. Our daughter is a combination of both of us. Now we have six grandchildren, three in college and three in high school. All of them get along famously, even the in-laws, and our family get-togethers are wonderful!

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