Thursday, June 12, 2008

Distinguishing Characteristics

For some reason, people are generally surprised that my children have such distinct personalities. It really is an amazing sociological experiment with the whole nature v. nurture argument. This afternoon as we were walking to the pool I was thinking how folks 400 yards away would be able to distinguish which child was which if they knew us well. Here's the key:

If there are floppy curls...it's K.
If the child is holding my hand...it's P.
If they are running ahead...it's R.
And the one with all the stuff? Bags on each arms, loaded down like a pack mule? That's me!

Then I thought of a few other criteria for telling us apart as we get closer:
If the shoes are on the wrong feet...it's P.
If the child is giggling...it's K.
If they are sulking or pitching a fit that his legs are tired and he needs to be carried...it's R.
I'm the one barking orders: "Come on." 'Slow down." "Freeze! You're too far ahead."

Up close is easy:
If the face and or the clothes are a mess (marker, food, dirt, whatever)...It's P.
If they say, "Excuse me" or open the door for you...It's R.
If they are singing loudly and off-key...It's K.
I am the sweaty one, pony-tail askew, whose clothes are covered in little dirty hand prints.

And because when they are wet, they look A LOT alike, here are clues for the pool:
Jumping off the side, or going underwater over and over and over and over=P
Squatting underwater with arms fully outstretched (out of the water), waving to anyone who'll look=K
Only in the water if he has a baseball bat and ball, otherwise in the grass beside the pool= R
I am the one whose head looks like she is watching a tennis match as it goes back and forth across the pool, muttering, "There's one...two...where's three? There's three!" over and over and over.

Speaking of the pool, I have an idea for an invention that Moms like me would benefit greatly from. I want a spray that temporarily (say 2 hours) turns their hair a flourescent color when in contact with chlorine. I am a nervous wreck trying to keep track of my children in the shallow end of our busy pool. All those little wet heads look alike! Wouldn't it be great if they were brightly and distinctly colored?

7 comments:

R said...

i need something like that for play areas and parks! i get so petrified every single time my 2 1/2 year old is out of my sight, and when my 6-month-old is able to run and play too, that will ruin me (and my blood pressure!)

Heidi Kellems said...

Would LOVE the hair spray idea. You should challenge a company and get it patented. Or somebody will steal the idea and make a lot of money with it.

Dear Abbi said...

The hair spray idea would work, except in the petite female department. They would ALL want hot pink...and I'm thinking it would be difficult to tell apart 2 dozen hot pink heads. :)

Terri said...

I found the greatest thing to keep up with my four (ages 12, 10, 8 and 4) at the pool are those water shirts that are available now. They are called rash guards, and we got ours at Old N*vy. We have season passes at the local water park that gets very crowded. I can now pick my crew out pretty quickly, and they help with sun protection. There are other kids that wear them, but not too many, so it works pretty well.

Anonymous said...

That is one good advantage to having one of the blondest kids in town!

Colored With Memories said...

Love the spray idea! Fun post!

annieology said...

I'm just going to link to your blog most days, seems we are living a somewhat parallel life.

Last year I made the investment in time to teach them all how to swim. We had to avoid the kid friendly pools and joined a health club with the average age of 80. They hated us but anytime there was free swim we were there, it only took six weeks. Today I could read a book if I wanted to.

One is so adventurous he does nothing but go off the high dive. It's crazy to see a little 3' something kid drop 13 feet through the air. The other two are content with kiddie pool areas but can "usually" self rescue. Still have to keep an eye on them, but the tennis neck goes away. I used swim trainers I found at Target for $15 each. They are blue and green and don't go over the shoulder so they simulate treading water, each week you take out some of the flotation. The best $45 I ever spent.