Lots of Scotts: Quirks

Because my children were on Fall Break Thursday and Friday and my husband was off all weekend, we had lots of quality time. During the school year it feels like my time with them is always rushed...getting ready for school, homework, snack, changing clothes for activities, in the car from here to there, cooking, feeding, bedtime...I am smiling even as I type at the memories of just doing life this weekend. It was so much fun to have 4 straight days of all-day-long time with my people.

I have always enjoyed sociology--studying people and what makes them tick. The longer I live and the more people I get to know, the more I am learning to appreciate quirks. They are truly the things that make a person different from the rest of this whole big world. This long weekend was a great opportunity to observe my children and revel in their uniqueness. For posterity, here are a few of my children's (admittedly some of them can drive me crazy at times) quirks at 7 1/2:

K's latest phase (for the last several months) is pretending she is a puppy. She loves to play house--but whereas I always insisted on being the Mom as a child, she only wants one role: silly puppy. I have had to establish some boundaries around this puppy persona--especially when i am trying to have a serious conversation with her...:-)She is so good at the sound effects, my neighbor came over yesterday to meet our new pet.

K is the resident queen of craftiness and repurposing. She frequently dashes into the kitchen with a 'treasure' asking me to please google "crafts you can do with a..."

K is also quite the responsible, nurturing one to her brothers(and sometimes to me, too). I noticed when uploading these pictures that sometimes her head is touching one brother...and sometimes the other. Sweetness!

A couple of mornings ago I heard a loud crash downstairs. As I jumped up to investigate, she put her hand on me and said, "Don't worry, Mama, I'll take care of it" and headed towards the stairs. She frequently tells me that she is not trying to be bossy, she is just practicing so she can be a good Mom one day. :)

R is coming into his own. He loves buddies and playing anything with a ball. R adores being the first, best, greatest at anything and everything. This can lead to some conflict! In recent weeks, our focus has been on being a gentleman/a young man of God. Nothing in the world puffs him up like my compliment that he "reminds me of (his) Daddy."

He is rough and tough on the outside, but quite tender on the inside. For all his bravado and machismo, he is still afraid of the dark, being alone and eye contact with grown ups he doesn't know well.

I appreciate his tenderness towards me so much. I recently asked him if he would take care of me when I was a great grandmother, like his Granddaddy did for Nana. His reply, "I don't know, Mama. I'll be pretty old when I am a Granddaddy and that wheelchair looked heavy to push."

P is the quirkiest of all. He dances (constantly) to the beat of his own kung fu fighting drummer. He is a delight with his wry sense of humor. His vocabulary is excellent and his word choice very grown up...so he keeps me in stitches with the things that come out of his mouth. Each day he seems to have a focus--something he has to accomplish or work out (and it can be frustratingly at the expense of other priorities). Friday it was finding and acquiring a 'real grappling hook gun,' yesterday it was learning the basics of algebra. He keeps me on my toes!

There's not room enough in this post for all my eccentricities...drinking with two straws, love for Diet Coke in bottles or cans only (no fountain), aversion to mouth noises, etc...or a list of my husband's idiosyncrasies, for that matter. Don't even get me started on the lengths I sometimes go to for real smiles...tickling feet here...