opposites & similarities

So, I've spent 15 years in this motherhood gig :)... and it has yet to get boring!!

Yesterday, I spent a large part of the day in awe of the way our children are so polar opposite and yet so very similar.

Christian spent the first 6 months of his life very sick.  Yet, if he wasn't in immediate pain, that boy was happy.

He attacks life.  He leaves no stone unturned.  He knows no stranger.  He is tenderhearted.  He is creative, random, and up for anything... anytime.  Will attempt most anything and then move on quickly to the next adventure.  Genius.  Outdoorsy.  In sports he was always one of the best players on his team... but more than that he was always representative of the team spirit... upbeat, optimistic, happy even when faced with a terrible defeat.

Ty is not like Christian... hmmmm... is he??!

Ty is stubborn.  He is shy and tentative.  He has a comfort zone that is not easily ventured out of.  He is creative, articulate, precise.  He is analytical, contemplative, no task too tedious...case in point, the boy has now amassed a huge collection of 4 and 5 leaf clovers.  Ty is creative and focused.  Extremely competitive... almost to a fault.

Like his big brother, he loves sports.  But unlike Christian, Ty is not the boy on the team to run around with tons of energy and enthusiasm.  He is reflective, thinking of the task at hand.

Yesterday morning was Opening Ceremonies for Baseball Season.  Ty loves baseball.  As coaches attempted to gather rambunctious boys of all ages and different teams to appear organized... there was my youngest calm and focused.

Later in the day, his team, the DevilRays... defeated the NY Yankees by the score of 7-5.
Ty got the Game Ball, woot, woot!

Ty scored 4 runs, played first base and got several outs, didn't even crack a smile while his family (me, grani, papa, sister, brother, and 4 cousins... dad was in dugout) obnoxiously cheered for him from the bleachers.  Focused.

Yet there came a moment during the game when I saw Christian in my youngest, polar opposite, little man.

 

The DevilRay third baseman, Nick, got hit in the face with the baseball.  Nick was hurting and turned his back to the crowd and held his face.  ALL mommies and grandmothers present cringed.  The ball was then fielded by Ty.  He held it.  He stood in one place and held it... looking at his hurt teammate.  The dads and coaches screamed at Ty to throw the ball to the pitcher, to stop the play.

Ty held the ball.

The runner on third was motioned by his coaches to make a run for home and he scored.

Ty held the ball.

Ty not playing on... was marked in the books as an error.

I just knew after the game that Ty would not focus on his awesome plays and runs, but instead focus on the scolding he got from his coach to 'play on' until the ump called a hold on play.

But instead, when I asked him about the play where he held the ball... he simply stated... "Nick was hurt... I didn't know if he was OK... my pitcher wasn't looking at me cause he was worried about Nick too, so I couldn't throw him the ball anyway... so I held the ball.  The ump should have held the play cause Nick was hurt.  AND the runner should have stayed on third cause it was not nice to run home when Nick was hurt."

Ty's explanation would not hold water with the rules of baseball.  The coaches would disagree.  Most dads would say play on!  

But Ty made his own call.  And he decided, consciously decided... among all the screaming and yelling... first and foremost...he wanted to see if Nick was going to be OK, which he later was.

Ty's choice was sooooooooooooo Christian!!!

PS - this week in school, Ty had to write a paper on an imaginary Hero.  He chose IronMan.  He then had to write a paper on a real hero... he chose Christian.