Conversations With a Five Year Old

Scene:
Flour covered mama, sleeves rolled up, wooden rolling pin in hand.
Son, on a chair pulled haphazardly over to the stove, watching as I roll tortillas.

I wanted to take advantage of my time alone with him (Wyatt was in the playroom and Logan was upstairs with Josh) so I told him I wanted to interview him.

Why do you think God made you a twin, but he didn't make Wyatt a twin?

I wanted Wyatt to be our twin, but there wasn't room in your belly for all of us.  So he came later.  But I wish he was our twin.

What makes you happy?

When you play the Cars game with me. (It's a memory game)
When I get to take a bath in your bath upstairs.  
And when Daddy wrestles me.

What do you think of Grandma Woo Woo?

(Grandma Woo Woo is my Grandma Pansy, their great grandmother. 
She makes this super cool train whistle that the kids all love, so she gained the nickname Woo Woo.)

I think she lives at the beach and she likes to send us money. That's nice.  We buy cereal with it at the store here.  We like that.  Especially Cocoa Pebbles.

What makes you upset?

When Logan doesn't listen to me. 
When he takes my toys.  
And when you yell at me.

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Jack is my peacemaker, my helper, my tender spirit.  If I am overwhelmed, he steps in. If I need help, he offers it joyfully.  If I need a job done, a brother tended or an errand run, he's my man.  He'll happily fetch toilet paper from the upstairs linen closet, help his brother climb into his high chair or set the table for dinner.

He has empathy that surpasses his five years.  When Wyatt or Logan get upset, he always acquiesces whatever necessary to make them happy.  Want a different movie? Want the Lego creation he just built? No problem.  He's such a giving soul.  He hates when his brothers are upset.

He longs for alone time with Josh and I, and loves special time with Wyatt.  He likes to feel like a big kid, preferring to drink out of our large glasses, wanting to pour his own milk, and washing himself in the bath tub.

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Jack struggles with school some days.  He wishes he had all the words memorized in reading, and hates to have to sound them out. It's getting better, but he loves when he can read fast, without sounding out.  Because of this, I've been adding little pieces to our homeschool routine to give him more practice.  

He tends to be easily distracted, and takes a long time to do his work independently while I'm working with Logan on his reading lesson.  But he is thorough, and his math skills are amazing. He knows right off the top of his head what most simple addition answers are.  But he has yet to master colors.

I wonder often if he and Logan are color blind. My dad is color blind, and it's an x-linked chromosomal abnormality. So it would pass from my dad, through me, to my boys.  They are too young for the color blind test at the eye doctors office to be conclusive.  I guess time will tell!

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Earlier this week I was talking to Wyatt about whether he was a twin or not, and he insisted that he is. I told him he's not. That he's a singleton. Then I asked Jack if he ever wished he was a singleton, and he said, "No," shaking his head, "No.  That sounds really bad. You would be all alone. I like someone to be with me."

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Last night when I went in his room to check him before bed, as I do every night before I turn in, I saw his hand wrapped around his sweet santa bear, his favorite stuffed animal friend, and I got choked up.  He's still a little boy.  He still has pride in his love for his bubba's.  He isn't embarrassed about sleeping with a teddy bear.  I want that to remain. Forever. I had the thought, "He won't always sleep with that," and it made me incredibly sad.  

I want to bottle up this time with him. 

Where he believes in magic, loves his stuffed animals and thinks I know all the answers.

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