Nature vs. Nurture

Every human is different:

no one is exactly alike.

And for this, I am thankful.

I have always wondered about personalities and how people become who they are. How much is predetermined before birth, or how big of an impact outside influences (environment) actually have on a persons personality.

Moms' tell me all the time that they can see their children's personalities, some when the child has just been born; others, even before the birth.

But I have to wonder if it is actually the babies personality, or if it is a trait the mother desires the baby to have.

In this area, I often feel like I don't have many stories to contribute. There was the one time that Alex threw a fit at the store over an orange swimsuit, and then again many months later demanding the shoes with the orange stripe. But to me, all this means is that he liked the color orange from an early age.

And then I had it.

The gestalt.

Just because I don't understand or am not picking up on my children's early personality traits doesn't mean they aren't there. 'Personality' is all encompassing. It is WHO you are.

So, a couple of days ago I decided to keep a watchful eye on my oldest little pumpkin because of course, now my thoughts had moved to: What am I missing? What is he showing me about himself that I am not seeing? When I look back at these days, what am I going to forget about, that was clearly an early sign of his developing personality?

I couldn't believe it. The answer was right in front of me, and this all comes back to something Jayne said to me while she was here which was basically:

"Our children are smarter than us."

Now, keep in mind, Alex has been meticulously lining up all things with wheels for well over a year now. And just because I don't understand it, doesn't mean it's not there, and doesn't mean it doesn't mean something.

But I have no idea what it means,

you know what I mean?

It might mean he's good at keeping all of his...ducks in a row.

Ha!