She and Her Shadow

The eldest child has the distinct role of trailblazer whether they want it or not.  Hopefully for the sake of the younger sibling(s) the first-born is worthy of a following and not another Charles Manson or the guy that played Screech and luckily for this world I’m the youngest of many so there are no carbon copies of me running around. 

It seemed like an ordinary night of chaos and frivolity until I eventually noticed a pattern taking place tonight as I sat down while my offspring ran around the kitchen/living room loop for what seemed like hours.  My daughter stopped by the coffee table and pretended to sleep, while remaining standing.  My son copied her exactly, right down to the tilted head and closed eyes.  She took off again to do the same thing against my legs and her protégé followed.  The leader relished in her role by adding little nuances to the routine each time she moved on to a new spot.  Rich Little would’ve been proud of the boy or maybe even jealous of his uncanny mimicking ability.  If he could say more than one word at a time we’d be rich… er, I mean he’d be rich.  We’d put his money away in a trust fund.  Yeah, that’s what we’d do.

I realized something while watching this hilarious display tonight; my son’s not a baby anymore.  I don’t know if he’s quite a toddler yet, but he’s moving up the munchkin food chain.  Before I know it, he’s going to be borrowing the car or getting married.  We’ll hope that he’s at least out of diapers by then.

Speaking of diapers, after tonight’s presentation, I suspect that my wife’s doing the right thing by putting the boy on the potty like his sister… even if it teaches him to pee like a girl.