Noah emerged groggily from his room shortly after his alarm went off, and wandered aimlessly around the upstairs hall for awhile with his eyes still closed, mumbling barely comprehensible questions at me about what he was supposed to be doing to get ready. He groaned when spoken to, moved slowly with his shoulders slumped forward and a forlorn face, and once he somehow managed to drag himself into the car, he sat there like a lump with the hood of his sweatshirt pulled over his head and didn't move or speak. After about an hour he eventually perked right up, and seemed ready and excited for the swimming challenges he had ahead of him. He had just needed a little time (alone and quiet) to get there.
Will, on the other hand, bounded out of bed the instant his eyes opened (before his alarm even went off) and came to find me right away so he could explain to me in great detail exactly what he was going to do and in what order to be ready on time. He ate a bowl of granola, read the morning comics, got dressed and brushed his teeth and made his bed in a flash, and danced his way out to the car. By the time we reached the highway, he had written three entertaining poems, given an enthusiastic (and loud, because he was yelling at us over the music he was listening to through his headphones) description of a car game he invented called "Monkey Run", built the Toronto Maple Leafs logo out of plasticine, and drawn a rather impressive self-portrait on a mini Etch-a-Sketch. He didn't need any time at all; he was there likely before he even woke up.
Observing the boys over the years and learning about their unique personalities has interestingly also helped me to better understand my own. And what I realize very clearly now is that while I can get up and go with as much enthusiasm and inspiration as Will can, too much of that level of activity eventually leaves me feeling like Noah when he gets woken up too early: like I want to sit alone and silent like a lump for awhile. These crazy June weeks, filled with all kinds of wonderful school and sport activities that I love to be a part of and people whose company I really enjoy, also leave me feeling drained, because there's no time in between anything for me to sit and breathe and think. I forget sometimes how much I need that until I don't have it for awhile.
Luckily this really busy time is short-lived; in a couple of weeks, everything will wind down and we'll each be able to choose how much or how little we want to do with our time. If you don't hear too much from me around here until then, know that I'm just maxed out from trying to play the real-life version of Monkey Run, and am preserving my sanity by taking the few free moments I can find to sit in blissful peacefulness with my hood over my head.
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