Sunday, February 5, 2012

Different Folks


Little E has a friend whose parents I have known for quite a while. They are wonderful, sweet people who happen to have a daughter who is exactly the same. She is precarious, outgoing and fearless. We happened to run into them at a restaurant the other day, and Little Bro called them over to say hi. Their daughter saw Little Bro and ran to him with every ounce of strength she had in her tiny little body. She hugged him like I have seen no child hug him before, and then ran off to the bathroom before bad things happened. I thought the interaction was over, but I was very wrong. Just a few minutes later, there was a boisterous 4-year-old in our booth crawling all over Little Bro and having the time of her life. She made no indication that this was unusual behavior for her. She started by sitting on Little Bro's lap, and then immediately crawled over to mine. Then, she hugged my mom and dad while her father stood there with a look on his face that said, "Why yes, we have tried to explain to her why this is not socially appropriate, but it is a lost cause."

She continued to climb.

We were all laughing too hard to care. 

Shortly after, she planted herself between my mother and myself in the booth and grabbed my phone. Within 30 seconds, this 4-year-old brainiac found the games and started beating my high score on StoneLoops. Her father said, "Alright, we have to go. You can climb under the table this one time. You love doing that." She looked at him with no intention of leaving and said, "I don't like to do that anymore. I'm gong to stay here."My mom told her that she remembered her when she was just a tiny baby. The little one replied "Yeah! When I was just an egg!"

This child had more energy than any human being I had ever seen. She clearly has never met a stranger, and she is flipping cute. She is the exact opposite of Little E in absolutely every way. Not better or funnier, just totally different. It's not that I didn't know that kids come in all energy levels and personality styles. It's just that it's really cute when you have two totally different examples right in front of you.

The juxtaposition between the two children reinforces why I think I want to have some of my own. I'm excited to know who they will be. I want to know how they will push my buttons, and how I (and the hubster) will manage to handle it. Will they bring out the best or worst in me? I feel like Little E brings out the best in me, but that's because he isn't my responsibility 24/7. It's like a whole world of unanswered questions, and the only way to figure them out is to just... start.

Also, I'm just glad that I don't have to put Little E's friend to bed at night. How do you tuck in a walking combustion reaction?


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