It's amazing how much a difference five years make. How did Xander get to be his own person, with his own personality and preferences and attitudes?
We were at a friend's house yesterday, and Ari (turning 3 next month), went to play with Ava, also 2. They played near us, coming to check in often and asking for help with things in their non-enunciated language.
Xander and Ava's brother Mateo, also 5, went right to the backyard and didn't come back in for two hours. When various parents went to check on them, they were playing merrily and obviously had their own in-jokes. At one point Mateo said, "let's show your mom how this works!" and it took me aback because 1) I was the mom, 2) they're old enough to say "mom," not "mommy," and 3) they were showing me something that I didn't know.
I know that children grow up. But still. Xander has been calling me "Mom" sometimes, to test it out, I think. And it's weird. He seems so old, especially as he's been taking on the role of helper for Ari and the baby.
-----
Then today, at the park, my viewpoint shifted again, as he seemed so childish compared to the teenage girls on the swings. One called him "Hot Stuff 101" and he was completely baffled as to what that meant. It was adorable.
Amazing how one's perspective can take a 180 depending on context.
No comments:
Post a Comment