She's got...Personality

Friday we were in the car tooling around running errands, when the best conversation happened. Jayme, my lover of words and everything that goes with them asked me what “personality” meant. McKenna, the oldest, decided she could answer this question, and in her best “I got this” voice explained...

“Okay...you know there are black people, and white people..some people are black, some people are Chinese...THAT, is personality.” 

Hmm...wow, great job Kenna, that was close..a good guess ..  but no, not at all! HA!

I explained personality to them by giving them examples of their personality.

Jayme is quiet, shy, eager to learn, sensitive, and very um...well PARTICULAR about certain thing. 

Mckenna is witty, friendly and a thinker, you have to get up early to get one over on her and sometimes I am not sure what she is thinking.

Carly Jo is caring, helpful, outgoing, and adaptive which makes her a happy person, but hyper-sensitive.

I threw in some obnoxious, bossy, and annoying’s just for laughs and good measure..but that lead to Jayme wanted to know what obnoxious meant and if she could say it or not!  

It was funny to listen to them ask in wonderment what the specifics of their personality was and then ask..”is that a bad thing”? They were so curious to know..what about me? And .. is that okay? I love this parenting job sometimes, no, most of the time - my girls are so different and yet at the core they are so alike, and just like me...and you. So unique and so distinctly human. Insecure, looking for affirmation and wanting to hear that what they are thinking and feeling is okay, trying to fit in while trying to hold the space they occupy. 

Where do I fit in? How much is nurture, and how much is nature, or is personality the sum of equal parts? hmm...question of the ages..which came first the chicken .. or the egg.

Taylor is 17 ... well she will be in about 2 weeks, and I am sure I will be blogging about that soon. She is compassionate, courageous, strong, dependable, honest, faithful, and caring, with a huge flair for the dramatic, but she is 17 and going into the Arts so it will suit her well. 

I have had 17 years to learn and help mold her personality and help make her the girl she is today, I think, at least.  I feel successful knowing that she is a someone I would be friends with.  Can I take credit for that? What if she were a horribly selfish pathalogical liar...could I be blamed for that?

I hope that all my girls will have a heart for people, I hope they will all be smart and value friendships and education. And whether it is true or not, I will take some credit, The negative characteristics, the flaws in their personalities....if there are any..will be blamed on Jim. 

Sound fair to me!

As a side note, Annabelle is four and I have no idea what her personality is going to be, but I can bet it is something new, and familiar...and irreplaceable. Obviously she has an eye for fashion.