A Distance Greater Than 21 Months

I remember it as if it was yesterday. One Christmas morning an 11 month old boy and a 2 1/2 year old girl received a pop-up tent. For the first time, the 2 wee ones began to play with one another not just next to one another. They chased and popped out of the tent; giggling and squealing all the while. And thus began a beautiful friendship. With only 21 months separating them, Emily and Will have always been close.

When Emily turned 12 and Will was 10 I noticed things began to change. I would tell people,"This is probably the biggest difference in age that they will ever have." I was wrong! 12 and 14 is a much bigger age difference. Poor Will is surrounded by teenage girls who are rapidly leaving childhood behind. While he is looking for a game to play in the pool, his sister and cousins want to "lay out" or just talk. Last fall the kids all went out into the woods to play imaginary games. As hard as he tries, he now can rarely talk them into heading out into the woods and when they do the girls do more talking than playing. I've discovered "talking" is a big past time of teenage girls. Just last week, his cousin Beth called him on the phone to come play in the backyard in the camping tent she had set up. He went filled with excitement only to discover the girls wanted to sit in the tent and.....you guessed it, talk. He finally talked them into getting out of the tent and into the yard where they.....practiced handstands and handsprings. Now is that a great boy activity?

We are spending a few days relaxing at the beach this week and the differences scream at me. Emily is enjoying walking on the beach looking for shells, swimming in the lazy river or riding in waves on her boogie board, then laying out in the sun or sitting in the hot tub while chatting with me. Will on the other hand is in constant perpetual motion. To the beach to boogie board and get completely filthy building sand castles or chasing seagulls, to the pool, swimming the lazy river backwards, chasing his father or anyone else through the lazy river forward, running up the 3 flights of stairs to the hotel slide and then throwing himself down it at rocket speed to the pool below only to do it over and over again. He is having a blast, but I wish I had brought his friend Christopher along!

Besides the differences in my kids, I am beginning to see signs of physical changes in Will too as he nears 13. His feet have exploded out of his shoes and all his pants are able to go through deep puddles without getting wet. In the picture below, you can see he is almost as tall as his sister; much to his delight. I am sure in the next few years he will leave action figures and legos in the past. For now, he is wanting to embrace childhood and get in some good testosterone play time. I just need to find him another boy locally to join him on the journey.