He is still a small boy despite the fact that he is 3/4 my size. Tall yet slight. Athletic but lean. I watch as he stands in front of the kitchen sink, scrubbing dishes. He uses a step stool which makes him slightly higher than he needs to be so he stoops to rinse the suds.
Teddy is honey colored with dirty blonde hair and long thick black lashes framing his slate blue eyes. You are struck by his beauty until he smiles and you see his large adult teeth, crooked, in his small child mouth. His limbs are long and sinewy. He is pushing through a size 3 shoe.
He is at once endearing and confounding. He questions everything, defies authority and yet longs to be cuddled.
People, namely close family members, relish telling me that Teddy is "just like" me. God, I hope not. Not for my sake but for his. What if he is Bi Polar?
No one thinks Annelise is my carbon copy... or anybody's for that matter. Annelise is 100% original. Her round little face and eyes, her fair skin, her propensity for hoarding.
What is it that we give our children? Love, patience, knowledge, kindness... boundaries, rules, regulations... DNA.... what else? A quick temper? Apathy? Intelligence?
I am quick to recognize Tim's traits in our children.... Teddy's love of sports and math, Annelise's analytical skills and gentle demeanor.
Harder to to identify are good traits I might have imparted.
I should compile a list... skepticism, tolerance, humility, a passion for cooking, wanderlust, devotion, generosity, the appreciation of a good cocktail, the ability to pull something together out of nothing, strong familial ties....
And of course love. Abiding and true. The kind that leaves you breathless and then consistently, daily, fills your lungs.
1 comment:
Love this post... you have given and will continue to give Teddy more than you will ever know! He is very lucky to have such wonderful parents!
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