relations

While doing my never ending job of dishes and laundry today I, as usual, went off into my own lil world of thought. Thinking about my beautiful boys. All that they mean to me, individually. When they were lil people always mistook them as twins, though they are 23 months apart in age. My oldest son, Andy, is rather small for his age. While my youngest, Bran, is shorter than average he is fairly close in size to his peers. So, for many years now they have been pretty close to the same size. Bran is 30 pounds heavier than his older brother, but alas, and Andy is quick to point out... he is still shorter. I was thinking, I love them both so much, yet relate to them each so differently, individually. Andy and me will go off into these conversations and debates for hours. Politics, religion, history, science... whatever is the topic of the moment. He just amazes me with his insights and how he connects them together in ways I had not thought about, yet makes so much sense, I fail to see how I missed connecting them myself. He is a very bright child, well pre-teen now (sigh). They grow so fast. When it comes to school he is on top of it. Strives to understand, and compelled to exceed. Sometimes to his own detriment I must add. Don't like to catagorize my children, but for lack of a better word he is an overachiever. On the other hand when it comes to chores or any manual labor with him... beware. This is not something he is at all compelled to do, and makes it very clearly known. Considers it a total waste of his time. Study, sports, friends, and playing instruments... that is how he is meant to spend his time.
Than there is his lil brother... best friends.. worst enemy.
Brandon is a hands on man. Caring, compassionate, very hard working lil boy. Could care less about politics and history mind you. But when it comes to fixing the plumbing, cleaning the yard, working on a car, so on and so forth... he is the one who jumps to it. Whether you want help or not, he is gonna. He spends hours constructing things. Which we try to offer him many ways in which to do this. He has his own tools and dad brings home pipes, wood, whatever left over junk is laying around, and Brandon goes to town with it. Legos, K'nex, erector sets, too many too name... these are the toys that capture his attention. He won't watch tv for any extended time, or play video games for that matter, for very long. He wants to build, create. He loves to help me in the kitchen, cooking, cleaning, whatever it may be. The thrill in his eyes when he finishes a project, be it making cookies or rotating tires on the car, is spiritually lifting. I can not explain it.

I have so much love and respect for those two boys, yet in such different ways. They are each so unique, yet so much alike at times. The way they love animals and family, or nature, and archery. They have so much in common, yet are complete opposites of the other. They are individuals, and proud to be, yet they are united as one. Such a bond between them, sometimes they argue without saying a word. Just a look at the other, and they understand. Or will sit there and play and one knows what the other wants or needs. Just mystifies me.

I learn so much from them, as individuals, and as a pair. And I thank my heavenly father every minute of every day for the blessing he has bestowed upon my life when he gave me those two lil boys :)