Apparently, quietness has a different meaning for each child

Quietness… Such a calming word. When I think of the word, I picture Snow White singing in the forest with all the woodland creatures dancing alongside her (without sound, just the image). The sun is blotchy through the thick trees and thousands of flowers blanket the ground -I don’t know why that is the peaceful image displaying in my brain, but it is.

When my daughter was younger, the word quiet didn’t mean the same thing it does now with my son. It usually meant she was reading, coloring, or playing. She never bothered anything she wasn’t supposed to. She stayed to herself and never needed child proofing. Even if she ever touched anything that she wasn’t supposed to, it was done with precision and fragile hands.

My son on the other hand has taken the word quiet to its literal, parenting form. You know the concept, “if my child is quiet, he or she is up to no good.”

The other day, my daughter and I were washing dishes while my son was in the playroom. He eventually left, walking into the living room, out of sight. I assumed he was getting his big wheel to ride (that’s where they are usually parked). After about a minute of not hearing a sound, my daughter turns to me and said, “what do you think brother is up to?” I stopped in my tracks, placing down a toweled dried plate, to walk into the room after him (my daughter shadowing my steps).

Luckily, what I found was not only adorable, but hilarious.

I walked in to find my son standing in front of the record player, with all the children’s records out of their sleeves and scattered on the floor at his feet. Hearing me enter, in one motion, he drops the current record from his hand onto the player and turns to me with a smirk (keeping his hands extended in front of him). As if he was saying, “I don’t know how this all happened?”

Knowing he isn’t allowed to touch the player or records, he runs past me saying “bye bye,” waving, at top speed. After internally laughing and my daughter saying, "what a silly brother," my daughter and I help pick up the mess and looped on repeat her favorite Snow White record –as we mocked danced to the music.

My son eventually re-entered the room, he can’t pass up dancing –especially with his momma and sister.

I’m apparently a slow learner, or I’m still riding high in the blissfulness of my daughter’s well behaved personality, but it takes me a few seconds to realize when my son is quiet, he’s into something he shouldn’t be. Thankfully, my house is child-proofed and rarely he's out of sight, so he can’t harm himself in anyway. But even in sight, tables get climbed, records get scattered, and his sister’s leap pad gets played with (usually hiding behind a chair).

Having a boy has been quite an eventful journey thus far. On one end, he’s not your typical boy. He’s very gentle, nonabrasive, and cuddly. He plays with dolls more than my daughter ever has and he’s very cautious. However, when it comes to getting into everything and climbing on anything he can, he is all boy.

But as time continues to pass, I’m curious to see if his personality will change or modify to fit his life at that moment. To see if his soft side turns rugged, or his mischievous side turns obedient. Either way, I’m enjoying having the contrast to my daughter. It adds adventures to my otherwise vanilla day.