The big vs the little

"Because I'm big, and your little,
I'm smart and your dumb,
I'm right and your wrong....and there's nothing you can do about it!"
This has to be one of my favorite sayings ever! It's from the movie Matilda and it just about says it all. My older kids think and feel this way almost all of the time, and yet I truly believe that it's the little kids who have it right most of the time!

I have it all. An adult child who has gone away to college all the way down to a newborn with just about everything in between. Any woman who is a mom has to learn a bit about almost every trade there is. Nursing, teaching, carpentry, cleaning, cooking, shopping, spy business, refereeing, and so on. Now, through all of that my favorite thing to do is to watch how the kids interact with each other. They are so obnoxious and think they know just about everything....hahaha!

For example...as I write this Abby, my 11 yr old, is standing in the kitchen grilling Lacie, my 10 yr old, on what is was she was doing earlier.
"Lac, I heard you banging things around in your room a while ago and I want to know what you were doing!"
Lacie starts to laugh, along with most of the kids standing next to her. Abby at this point thinks she must have been doing something really naughty to warrant such laughter. What Abby didn't see was Isaac standing behind her mimicking her every move and being somewhat dramatic about it. This didn't start a fight today, but it would have most days. But somehow, it's these bigger supposedly more "mature" kids that think they know everything. I beg to differ...

The little kids have it pegged I tell ya. They play because that's what comes natural. I hear a lot less "I'm bored!"s out of them. They find the most ridiculous things and somehow make a game of it. Jessi's latest find was a bunch of tiny fish. She has bathed with them, slept with them and eaten with them. She is one of my best kids at finding things to do and it shows in how often she complains...almost never. Isaac on the other hand stood toe to toe with me today and complained about how bored he was. He feels like the world was somehow built on the principles of "Lets see how we can keep Isaac busy today!" and when the world fails, he lets you know it!

Now, second to that is what the little kids say. Not just what they do. Big kids are wonderful..they truly are. They are smart, can be kind and are sharp on their feet when it comes to sarcasm (that's an inherited quality!). But they often choose not to say the right thing, for whatever their reasons. My little kids just speak, speak honestly and speak quickly. Sometimes this isn't such a good thing. They tend to embarrass us in stores with comments on how others look or walk. They talk about their bowels at family dinners and their mouth "filters" are sorely underdeveloped. But at times this is a wonderful quality. Colby and I have a new routine every night as I tuck him in.

"Good night Colby"
"Good night mom!"
"I love you Colby"
"Mom, can I have a glass of water?"
"Ugh Colby...why didn't you get one before you got into bed?"
"Sorry mom..."
After the water has been drunk we start the process over again.
"Night Colby...love you!"
"Night beautiful!"
Boy...I tell ya what, nothing melts my heart like hearing my sweet 5 yr old son call me beautiful. He is going to make some woman very happy someday.

He has it figured out. Simple, honest (at least I like to think he is being honest when he calls me beautiful!) and all around pleasant. He cries when he is hurt or upset. He plays most the day and sleeps when he is tired. The older kids? Well, they cry when they don't get their way, they yell and get stressed over things that don't need tears and they refuse to sleep even when their bodies desperately need it. I am pretty sure that the little kids are the ones who know what they're doing and the older kids could take a few lessons.

Take a look at the baby....seriously. She is awake only to eat. I think that sounds like a marvelous plan and would love to try it out one day...or week! So think about it...who is smart and who is dumb? Who is right and who is wrong? I think the only part the older kids have right is who is big and who is little!