Different Boys

Ryan and Luke are so different - it always amazes us how different 2 kids can be, even if they have had almost an identical upbringing and life experiences - it really shows how big nature can be over nurture.  An example of that was shown to me a few weeks ago when the boys and I flew to Lubbock.  We got them a color by number Angry Birds activity to help keep them busy on the plane.  The way they each approached it and finished it says a ton about their different personalities.  We hadn't really seen this kind of example before because the boys have never liked coloring a coloring book type of picture - they have always preferred to draw and create something on their own - but they love Angry Birds, so they jumped right on this one.

 Here is Luke's picture.  Luke approaches most things in a very quick manner and doesn't spend a ton of time completing a task.  Luke is really very intelligent and creative and he "gets" things very quickly.  However, he rushes through things and rarely puts forth his best effort.  Luke colored his picture in about 3/4 of a one hour plane ride.  He didn't stick with one color at a time - he would color one part of it and then go on to something else and then come back to the first color later on.  Luke colored just enough to his satisfaction, but he wasn't very neat and  he didn't color anything in completely - which is totally fine with him.

Ryan approached his picture very differently.  It took him 2 plane rides and then another hour the day after we got home to complete his picture.  Ryan is a smart kid, but he works very slow.  Greg and I have been a little concerned about Ryan's slow processing speed - but he does always get it done and he does a great job of what he does, it just takes him much longer to do it than average.  Ryan's approach was to start with all of the #1 areas, and then he moved on to #2 and so on.  If Luke had the marker for #3 and that was Ryan's next one, he would wait for Luke to finish, rather than skip and start on #4.  Ryan is very meticulous with what he does and he takes great pride in his work.  Ryan cares very deeply about things and he gets easily frustrated when he has a difficult time explaining what he wants or how he feels about things.  He is so different from his brother in so many ways - including how he colors a picture.

I love both of my sweet boys.  They can drive me and each other crazy at times, but they are such great kids.  I love Luke's creativity and unique approach to the world.  I love Ryan's sense of humor and his deep sense of feeling in all things.  They teach me new things everyday about how to look at the world and how each boy has their own unique needs that Greg and I have to continue to foster.  We hope to tend to each of them in their own special way to help them develop their own sense of who they are and what their place in the world will be.