Brothers

The difference between brothers, raised in the same household, can be extraordinary (kind of like how people are all completely different)!

Take Max for instance, he wakes up yelling at me. He lets me know all day long how his life is my fault. However, he is great at cleaning up. George is lucky he shares a room with him because Max cleans the whole thing on chore day. And then I take him to daycare and preschool. They are always commenting to me on how sweet he is. That he is "the sweetest boy." No problems. Then I bring him home. He is getting a birthday party this year, not because it's his turn, but because he started to throw a tantrum when I told him he didn't get one this year (I know, I cause half the problems, but giving in is so much easier than fighting). I told him he has to keep it small. Which means we will do it at our house and I will do all the work. I can't wait!

And then there is George. Pretty much everyone loves George. His teacher, his gymnastics coach, neighbors, kids, his snowboard teacher (who has only seen him twice). Once I told George that his only fault was his temper (displayed only at home) and that he needed to fix it. The kids overheard and let me know that they could think of a few others. Things come easily for George. After his last gymnastics meet (brought the camera, only to discover the battery was dead), and another envelope full of blue ribbons, I said to George, "What are you going to do when you come home from a meet without any blue ribbons?" He immediately said, "That will never happen."  To which I replied, "What about State Championships?" He said, "I'm serious, that will never happen." Such confidence. And last time he went snowboarding, his teacher informed Steve that George was going to be really good. Great, maybe we need to work on a little humility here.

And finally, Sam. Sam likes to wake up kind of grouchy. But by the time he comes home from school, he is fine (as long as I don't tell him to do anything). He hates chore day and will sit in the bathroom all day without cleaning it. But as long as he has no pressures on him, he remains unruffled. The difference between Sam and Max can be displayed by their upcoming birthdays. I said to Sam, "Sorry, but you are going to get the shaft when the baby comes." He said, "What does that mean?" I said, "It means, even though you are supposed to get a party this year, you won't." He said, "Can I have a family party?" To which I replied, "I think I will be too tired to do anything." Then he said, "Do I still get presents?" I said, "Of course." And then he said, "You can just give me money. That would be easiest." Then he went on his way like nothing was wrong in the world. Let me just say that I'm really glad the baby is coming during Sam's birthday and not Max's.