Characters

I used to kind of shrug my shoulders when people commented to me about how children within the same family were usually very different from each other.  I thought that was probably true, but the statement didn't resonate with me because my children are similar in several ways.  All of my kids are very confident, outgoing, and expressive.  They are smart, creative, funny and fun.  And those are the things that stood out to me for quite a while.  But in the last few years, they are becoming more and more different form each other.  This is evident in a variety of ways, but one way to distinguish unique personality traits is to watch these four play together.

Cat always comes across as the ring leader.  Whatever Cat is doing, the other kids want in on it.  She's like the cool kid at school who wears two different colors of socks, and then everyone else at school starts wearing two different colors of socks.  Whether she's setting up a frontier village in the front yard (think Little House on the Prairie), playing cards, or cleaning her room, the other kids want to be a part of it.  Luckily, she's a good enough kid that I don't have to bring up the old Spider-Man adage, "With great power comes great responsibility."  She certainly could be using her influence in other ways, and I'm grateful that she doesn't.

Jack is hands-down, the designated rule-breaker.  Sometimes it's deliberate, and other times I chalk it up to forgetfulness or carelessness.  But if something is going wrong, Jack is usually in the middle of it.

Eliza is the informer.  Eliza's speedy reporting of anything going on that she perceives as unfair, unkind, inconsiderate, irresponsible, or rule-breaking means that I'm as well-informed as a Twitter-addicted teenager.  This, combined with Cat's trustworthy leadership, makes it easy for me to let the kids play on their own.

Luke is the loose canon of the group.  We never know when he's going to suddenly begin assaulting a sibling or destroying whatever the older kids have built.  On the other hand, he enjoys playing with them and can be quite cooperative when he wants to be.

It makes me think about how different the dynamic is when one child is missing.  We had a few days of missing Cat while she was at Girls' Camp recently, and it was so much quieter around the house. And when Luke is taking a nap (which he still does most of the time when we give him the chance), everyone in the house seems a bit more calm.

I'm thankful for these four kids and their distinct, yet similar, personalities.  I love watching them interact with each other and with others.  They are growing and learning and maturing, and I hope we keep strengthening our family bonds as personalities continue to develop.