I will not be surprised to see Abby give this clarinet thing her all. She gives everything 100% whether it's school work, playing soccer, hula hooping, or bugging Ian. She's a fierce competitor. It can be awe-inspiring and impressive and also exhausting and annoying. And it is in sharp contrast to her brother.
Ian played the viola for three years in elementary school. Let me rephrase that. Ian had a viola and took it to school once a week for three years. Practicing it was extremely low on his list of things to do. Maybe just a notch above household chores, showering, and brushing his teeth, and way below eating, television, video games, the computer, and annoying his sister. Ian managed to be last chair in the viola section of the elementary school for three years running and it didn't phase him a bit.
While he's very bright and a naturally gifted student, Ian is not a competitor. He's just too laid back for competition. Too interested in life being fun to be bothered with being the best. It's fascinating that he and Abby come from the same gene pool.
So I find myself wondering, not which child will be more successful (in the typical sense of the word), but which child will live a happier life. Someone must have done studies on Type As versus Type Bs and their happiness quotient. Since I don't feel like doing the research to see what they found, however, how about you weigh in on your prediction for my children's future happiness?
1 comment:
Tough one. My type-A eldest tends to make himself (and others) miserable at least half of the time. My type-B youngest tends to make himself happy and his type-A family members miserable (which inspires us to force some of the misery on him). And my middle son tends to waffle between type A and type B--miserable when he falls short of his own standards but indifferent to falling short of anyone else's.
Since I'm definitely type A, I can't imagine being happy without a measure of success. But don't we all define success differently? I recommend helping each kid learn to articulate his or her own definition of both happiness and success--and then equip each of them to pursue that. Then call, text, or email me with the secret of doing those things! :-)
Post a Comment