The quiet one…

My girls always love to joke with me by saying Alex is my favorite.  Obviously, I don’t have favorites.  I love each of my children the same…I just parent each of them completely different because they are each so unique.  As I write this blog it may look like he’s my favorite, but if you look back at my blogs…there’s many about Bailee and there’s one about Anna Kate…now it’s his turn.

When I was pregnant with the twins it was routine to have more ultrasounds due to the nature of the pregnancy.  During the end of the 2nd trimester and throughout the 3rd trimester they basically stayed in the same places…or on the same sides I guess you’d say.  Because I knew who was who I could already start to gain a sense of their personalities even when I was carrying them. Anna Kate moved ALL THE TIME.  She was never still.  She LOVED music. During worship time at church or when I was listening to music she would be moving around like crazy.  Alex, on the other hand, was a lot less active.  I mean he moved around, but not near as much as Anna Kate and it was obvious he wasn’t as “wiggly” as her.  I would call my mama and I’d tell her that the girl was gonna be a handful and the boy was probably going to be calm.  Right after they were born, my family was able to see them as they shared a crib and were wheeled to the nursery.  I love to hear my family describe what they saw.  They said Anna Kate was screaming her head off and waving her arms around…and Alex was just still, quiet and calm…just staring in her direction.

Honestly, nothing much has changed….she’s still “wiggly” and loud…he’s still calm and quiet.  I think sometimes because Alex is so quiet and has very little to say, he is often times misunderstood.  I always worry people will think he’s stuck up or rude.  I also hate that people miss the beauty of his personality because he doesn’t let many “in” to know him.  So…today I am dedicating my blog to Alex so I can be his voice…and so anyone reading this can know just what an amazing son God has blessed us with.

First of all, Alex is a rule follower and a people pleaser.  He is just a very compliant fellow when it comes to rules…most of the time…I mean he is normal and has his defiant moments with us.  He will avoid conflict if at all possible.  This has probably not been the best thing being that his twin is Anna Kate…she has learned to milk this attribute of his personality quite well…let’s just say she pretty much has him wrapped around her little finger.  He makes her coffee every morning, he fixes her lunch quite often and so many more things.  I know I know…it sounds like a mini Robert and Angie…and yes he is so much like his daddy in that way.  I’m gonna say it right now…whatever girl is lucky enough to land my son as her guy…well she’s going to be one very blessed young lady!

Alex is also fairly humble.  He is a very good student and academics have always come pretty easy for him…again quite the opposite of his twin sister.  She has to work extremely hard sometimes just to make a C on school work.  Never, ever have I heard him brag about his grades or “rub it in” to her that his grades are higher than hers.  I love that about him…and I know why he’s that way…he loves his sister and would never want anything to hurt her or make her feel bad about herself.

He’s also a pretty deep thinker and fairly wise for his age, but at the same time has an amazingly dry, quick wit about him.  I always tell people that if Alex speaks they should probably listen because he’s either going to say something pretty profound or pretty funny.  He’s always been that way.  When he was really little, maybe 4 or 5 years old, he had a little stuffed possum he got as a souvenir from Callaway Gardens.  He loved that toy!  He would always carry it around with him or have it in his bed with him.  One night as he was getting ready for bed and had that possum with him I asked him of he was going to sleep with him that night.  His response…”Mom, of course he isn’t going to sleep with me…he’s nocturnal!”  I knew then this kid was way smarter than I ever thought to be.

What I love so much about Alex is his passion and determination.  He’s that way about his spiritual life, his school life and his soccer.  He sets goals for himself and drives himself with determination and passion to reach them.  I know that the sky is the limit for him because of this trait about him.  He’s taking beginning Spanish right now at school and is thriving in it.  He’s already planning on taking Spanish 2 next year with the actual teacher at school and not on access.  This is not the norm for most kids…because when he walks into that Spanish 2 class next year his teacher will speak in Spanish beginning day 1.  He’s excited about that because he knows it will challenge him to really dive into and learn the language.  Why is he so bound and determined on learning that language?  Because he knows the value of it in his life for many reasons.  He’s going on his first mission trip to Guatemala this summer and wants to know as much of the language as possible so he can communicate with the natives.  He knows he will probably go on this trip again in the next couple of summers so he would love to eventually be able to speak fairly fluently with the people.  He also knows it will be valuable on the soccer field.  Many times he has played against majority Hispanic teams and he would love to be able to communicate with them.  Lastly, he knows it will make him more marketable in the future as he applies to colleges, as he tries to play soccer in college and even in his future career choice.

So this is a glimpse into my kid I call “the quiet one”.  There’s so much more to him than meets the eye.  If you are reading this that means I decided to actually post it.  In that case, because he’s so humble, please don’t mention this blog to him.  He would probably be really mad at me for writing all this about him.  I couldn’t help it though.  The picture I posted of him above is what sparked this writing.  Cindy Nicholas, who is a friend and fellow “soccer mom”, snapped this picture of him this past fall at a soccer tournament.  This photo, to me, exemplified all the complexity of my son in one shot.  What do I see in this picture?  I see passion, determination, humbleness, strong silence, wisdom, wit and a selfless being…I see the quiet one….