It is often hard to believe that two children born and raised by the same parents could behave so differently. My children looked very similar as toddlers. Both Jackson and Scout had "slightly" larger than normal heads (a Rybarczyk family trait that I, personally, LOVE), bright blue eyes (Wade claims came from him) and golden blonde curly hair. That is where their similarities came to a SCREECHING halt. Jackson is essentially an "easy" child to parent. He is very well behaved, quiet and can entertain himself. I will also add that Jackson is messy (a trait that I am convinced comes from Wade) and highly anxious. Now, Scout is a very different story. She is a "challenging" child to parent. Scout is not well behaved, quiet, or entertained by her toys. In fact, if Scout is EVER quiet or entertaining herself something VERY bad is happening in our home.
So, why all the talk about differences. On our last Friday of summer vacation, I had the "crazy" idea to take three children Jackson, Scout and Tucker (my nephew) to Splashtown (don't worry, I wouldn't embark on such a perilous journey without a little help from Starbucks). At Splashtown the differences between Jackson and Scout were blinding. Jackson wanted to know where I was at every moment, despite my best attempts to keep he and his cousin informed. Also, Jackson was fearful of some of the water rides. And, to be honest, I see nothing wrong with a healthy sense of fear. But, I worry when Jackson's fears reduce him to tears. I also worry when a child like Scout has NO fear. Scout wanted nothing to do with me at Splashtown. She would try to "run" away every chance she got and because Scout is small she could maneuver through the crowds better than I. You may be asking yourself where Scout was headed when she was running away? Scout was insistent that she could ride the Tornado. A water slide that was funnel shaped, about a mile off the ground and appeared to make adults pee their pants with fear.
I guess the bottom line is that I would like Jackson and Scout to be less different. Jackson could really use some of Scout's no fear attitude, and Scout really use some of Jackson's overly cautious demeanor.
(I tried REALLY hard to take pictures of the three kids at Splashtown, but I firmly believe that I would need professional photography equipment comparable to that of National Geographic to photograph Scout running around Splashtown; however, I do have a few pictures from the cottage this weekend.)
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| Jackson "goofing" around in the kayak |
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| Finally, a photo of Scout without a lollipop in her mouth |
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| Mommy & Scout before our kayak voyage |
