The Kids

The most memorable part of dogsledding with The Boy, Sis, Kid1 - 7-year-old boy, and Kid2 - 5-year-old girl, was the ride home. The dogs and sleds were fun, but I gotta tell you about Kid1 and Kid2.

Kid1 is the smartest kid I know. Not witty, smart alecky - he can be, though he's usually more noisy and whiny - but truly smart, as in possessing higher intelligence than the average adult, interested in facts and science, possesses a large vocabulary, is an advanced reader, and is quick to see patterns and anticipate outcomes. For example, he and The Boy were playing tic-tac-toe. After the third square is filled in, Kid1 calls the game - he knows whether the game will end in a win for him, The Boy, or neither. He was always right.

Kid1 has a few close friends and an active imagination. I've had discussions of the powers and feats of Bionicals and Pokemons with him. He can be demanding, a good conversationalists when he's in the mood, likes structure, and is usually rational. But sometimes, he seems clued out as to how others feel. He is so focussed on knowledge that Sis sometimes wonders if he isn't a borderline Asperger. He's certainly been tested and is certified gifted.

I always imagine we're buddies. He's just a kid after all and sometimes, when we're out and he's having a good time, he hugs me for no reason.

Kid2, well Kid2 is a completely different kind of kid. She is perkiness, sweetness and grace incarnate. People make a fuss about how cute and engaging she is wherever she goes. Beauty, innocence and sweetness. Musical, intelligent, and thoughtful. She must've been an elfin fairy in a previous life. She certainly has a magical quality in this one.

Kid2 loves animals, likes to do things for herself, and contemplates larger issues of life. Once, she and The Man were in serious discussion for hours over how Humpty Dumpty fell off the wall. Did someone push him, and if so, who done it? They eliminated Sam I Am because he doesn't like eggs. They considered the Big Bad Wolf because he huffs and puffs and could have blown Humpty Dumpty off the wall. But no, he was after pigs and little girls, not eggs. It went on like that for a couple of visits.

Finally, at Christmas, Kid2 shyly approached The Man and told him that Humpty Dumpty fell off the wall by himself because in her book, there was a butterfly near Humpty Dumpty when he was sitting on the wall. He must've tried to catch the butterfly and fell off the wall by accident. See the desire for harmony and to not lay blame in her logic?

Kid2 is charismatic and fun to be with, good natured and good humoured. In her kindergarten class, everyone wants to be friends with her. She initiates conversations, is interested and interesting, observant. She tells you about her friends and what they did together, she tells you about her thoughts. She's great company, like The Boy. You just like being around her because you feel you are in the presence of joy and glee.

I think of her as a magical treasure. My job is to guard her and help her remain true to herself, help her realize that all the costumes and girlie things she loves are fun, but at the core, she is perfect as she is.

So imagine The Boy, Kid1 and Kid2 in the back seat of the car for an hour on the way back from dogsledding. They started singing. They sang and laughed the whole ride. The Boy was choir master. He got them to do harmonies, triads, and free form. He coordinated their solos. They sang in tune, off key, in sync, and off scale. They argued and made up. It was happy noise, and a part of me wished the car ride could go on forever.