the busy mother. Comparable to a symphony director, but replace the experienced cellist, and world-renowned pianist with two children, four and eight respectively, and you’ll be close. Bathroom breaks, Goldfish snacks (because answering with “We’ll be having dinner in less than an hour…” when the four-year-old is hungry may get you burned at the stake.) and clothes that “don’t feel right” are part of daily life.

I am blessed with two beauties. The oldest is eight, going on eighteen, and the youngest reminds me what it is like to still be a child. However, I’m still amazed – to this day- that two children from the same gene pool can be so completely different. I recently read “The Birth Order” by Dr. Kevin Leman and honestly, thought he wrote the book just for me. Our oldest daughter is the epitome of the “Oldest Child”. Smart, Adult-like, and a by-the-book kind of girl. In her mind, rules are NOT made to be broken – they are to be followed, to a T. Then the youngest came along and the universe turned upside down. The youngest is, let’s say, easy-going. The “I want to wear pajamas in the car to the donut shop” kind of gal. Of course, this is not right in the eyes of the eight-year old. Pajamas are to be worn to bed, not to the donut shop.

Of course, I bear a great deal of responsibility for this character trait the oldest exhibits. I, too, am an oldest. And if that wasn’t bad enough, so is her father. I am trying to be more flexible, hoping it might rub off on her. Hope is the key word there…

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