Thursday, November 06, 2008

A chip off the old block

Before I had children, I wondered what characteristics my kids would have. At that time I thought about physical characteristics. I prayed for MK to have brown eyes, and she does! People usually say MK looks like I do, and I have even heard T. Willy referred to as "Little Erik." However, the behavioral things are what I notice more these days. MK is quick on her feet like her dad. She's funny and right there with the joke. T. Willy loves letters and words, just like his mom. MK has a real gift of empathy; she always thinks of others. Her dad is like that. I'm not, though I wish I were. But the thing that struck me tonight was sleep patterns. MK and I can stay up all night, as Melissa may remember. But when the Big Man and T. Willy are ready for sleep, it's time to sleep.

T. Willy's bedtime is 8:00 on school nights. I would do anything to avoid my bedtime as a kid. My mom had to stop giving me naps when I was 2, because I would want to stay up all night. I think I was afraid I might miss something. MK is very similar. When she went to her first slumber party, the parents told me that she was the last one to fall asleep. That happened several times after that. But T. Willy isn't like that at all. He likes to go to bed. Imagine my surprise tonight when he asked at 7:40, "Can I go to sleep now?" I'm not sure those words have ever come out of my mouth. I can tell you, it's very nice to have a child like that, but I can't relate.

So, T. Willy is tucked in bed for the night, and MK is going strong. I hope you have a good night, whatever your sleep patterns may be!

1 comment:

Chellie said...

It's so interesting, isn't it? I loved hearing about how your kids are... I'm like T. Willy - I like to go to bed. Maybe not so much when I was younger, but now I do!!