What I Learned about My Boy

Harrison and I spent the whole weekend alone, as Bryce and the other kids (even the dog) went to Utah. It's been a while since I've had one-on-one time with this little dude and I realized after just a day together--it been too long. The other kids are in my face a lot but Harrison is different. I would say he gets crowded out and misunderstood. After this weekend I certainly hope to change that. Here are some things I learned about Harrison:

1. He doesn't like Ranch dressing. What? Who doesn't like Ranch (besides my mom)? He also dislikes mustard, pickle relish, and mayonnaise. He doesn't really even like ketchup! I had no idea.

2. He loves watching the news and documentaries. I kind of knew this but I really discovered it this weekend. He was happy to watch the Today Show on Saturday morning, and two genealogical documentaries called "African American Lives 2" on PBS. He has lots of questions and tries to make sense of what's going on in the world.

3. He needs a lot of physical activity. I realized with just the two of us around that after a while he'd get antsy and start kicking a ball around the house or jump from couch to couch. Normally with all the other kids around I merely find this behavior attention-seeking and annoying (because with the other kids--it usually involves chasing and yelling). But today it was plain to see that he has a great need to expend his physical energy in a constructive way. I guess that what I learned is that he's not "acting out" when he's running and flipping around. He's just reached the end of his rope and needs to get up and move.

4. He thinks and talks a lot about death. I will admit that I find this disconcerting.

5. He likes chips "in a white bag, with a picture of a lady on the front. She might be an angel." Do you know what he means? I sure didn't. When we went to the store he pointed them out: 

These are Bryce's favorite tortilla chips! I didn't know they were Harrison's too. I always buy Mission brand but Bryce is loyal to Santitas. I guess Harrison is his daddy's boy on that.

6. He is getting to be an awesome reader. We played the UnGame together and he actually read his cards to me; for example, "Talk about a time when you lost something."

7. He fancies himself good at puzzles and making houses out of cards. I introduced him to 52 Card Pick-up and he laughed like crazy. Ready...aim...FIRE! But his technique is not as refined as mine so when he did it back to me--he basically threw the deck at my forehead. Don't say it: I know I got what I deserved!

8. He is getting less shy about praying. Tonight we knelt beside his bed and he willingly offered a very nice prayer. I complimented him and asked if he still felt shy about it and he said no, but that "praying is kind of boring....but no offense to Jesus. Oh man, I shouldn't have said that."

9. He is super loyal and loving to his twin brother. He's wanted to talk to Cameron every day they've been apart. He tells me how much he loves Cam, that he hopes he's having fun. He coiled up his own beloved stuffed snake (Grape) on Cameron's bed so it would be a nice surprise for his brother tomorrow. I tell ya, that twin bond is really something special.

Super twins! They were so proud of the identical outfits they chose! Is it bad that I let them go to school like this? Yeah, those are my knee socks.

10. He created this masterpiece in art class:

Displayed on the fridge.

I mean, HELLO!!!!! I think it's really, really incredible, especially for a 1st-grader. In fact, we were all so impressed we suspected the teacher did a lot of it for him! But he said that he followed the instructions (you can see the faint intersection of lines making quadrants on the face) and that he did it himself. He's got talent then, that's for sure.

And what I learned most is that Harrison is a wonderful kid who deserves to be noticed and listened to and appreciated for the interesting, intriguing person he is. He's quiet, he's loud; he's independent, he's impulsive; he's aggressive, he's sensitive; he's frustrating, he's endearing; he's our sweet fourth child--he's our Harrison.