I have three boys -- the two I birthed and the one I married. Until recently, I called them Small, Medium, and Large. But then the younger son outgrew the older one (in height), and they both outgrew their dad. The sons have certainly not outgrown their dad in maturity, although one could argue that they have caught up to him, along with asserting that this was not a spectacular feat. But that is a subject for another day. There will be plenty to say later about the boy I married. Today I lovingly introduce my readers to Son 1.
Born in 1992 when I was 27, "The Big D," as his dad calls him, is the one that is most like me. According to Gregorc's mind styles, he is clearly concrete-sequential. If he were one of The Odd Couple, he'd be Felix. He is studying to be an aerospace engineer and constantly analyzing and trying to explain his world (much like his dad in this respect). He is intelligent, logical, academically-oriented, observant, reserved (especially around strangers), shy, kind-hearted, eager to help, slow to anger, and strong in his convictions.
Oh, and thrifty (maybe even frugal). As his senior year in high school began, we were discussing his savings account, which was quite impressive in my opinion. He had been working at the local DQ since he turned 16. I asked him what he was saving up for. He shrugged his shoulders and matter-of-factly said, "Life!" Well, alrighty then! I couldn't very well argue with that.
The parts of his world that he cares to (and can) control are at all times planned and orderly -- he is very much the neatnik, the organizer, the sorter, the classifier. I suppose he gets it from me, but watching it develop in a child is fascinating.
We discovered this last cluster of qualities very early on. I remember one particular Saturday morning when he was maybe two years old -- not even potty-trained yet. He and I were home, and Ben was gone somewhere. I was busy with all the various tasks of the home, and D was busy playing. I could hear the pitter-patter of his footsteps, along with the distinct sound of his diaper crinkling along with his movements. At some point, though, I realized that these sounds were constant on this morning. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. No sitting around for this little man -- evidently there was work to be done.
Curious, I stopped what I was doing to watch. I could do so without his knowledge from where I was in the kitchen. At this point, he had brought a few of his bigger toys out to the living room and was headed back for another. "Whatever," I thought to myself, and returned my focus to my work in the kitchen. But the sounds continued, and, I observed, so did the big move. He continued this project until every toy in his room that he could carry, push, or ride was in the living room. As if this weren't odd enough, they were all lined up in two perfect rows spanning the entire diagonal of the living room. And I mean perfect.
Very intent on his work, he still didn't know I was watching. As soon as everything was out of his room and properly lined up, he began the reverse process, taking each item back to his room and placing it in its usual spot.
Wish I had filmed it. I'm telling you, it was downright spooky.
I learned to make use of his talents in this area as often as possible, putting him in charge of small-scale tasks suited to his age, until he was old enough to take on larger challenges with little or no instruction, such as reorganizing the storage room downstairs or straightening up the workshop for his dad.
While in college and until he finds a suitable engineering internship, he is working at one of the Walmart Super Centers in the area. Having been a Walmart associate for over a year now, he is well-versed in "zoning" and "facing" -- straightening the products on the shelves and pulling them to the front. And the other day while he was with us at a different Walmart, he could not pass by a sloppy shelf without stopping to fix it.
That's my boy.
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