Different!

So, this weekend I have been thinking a lot about how different your kids can be. Taryn and Lauren are 18 months apart. They are best friends, yet, worst enemies. One daughter is a little like me, yet the other is nothing like I was at her age. One likes to wear fake fingernails, and earrings, and necklaces, while the other one doesn't care.
Lauren shot her first buck this weekend. I was excited for her, yet I don't know what to think. I didn't grow up in a hunters house, and never ate game meat. I never got used to it, so we will have a lot of beef jerky. She got the hunter gene from Tom. She also loves to play sports, but also like me, it doesn't come naturally for her, and she must work harder. Hopefully she will put a little meat on her bones soon. She is very competitive like both Tom and I, and that is why she likes sports.



Taryn on the other hand likes anything that sparkles. While Lauren was on her hunting trip, Taryn had the great opportunely to stay home with me. Friday there was no school, so we went to the mall and did what she wanted. I felt like a husband holding his wife's purse while she tried things on in the dressing room. We spent about 45 minutes at Clair's, where she bought some fake nails. We spent some time at both Hollister and A&F. And of course Justice. I had to drag her out. She is growing up too fast.

I was a tom boy all the way when I was a kid. My dad was worried that I was not feminine enough, and sent me to a modeling school, thinking some of the girly stuff would rub off. I went once. My dad also famously said when I was around 16-17 years old "if I didn't learn to cook, I would never find a man to marry me". Well after he said that I went out of my way to never learn to cook, just to prove him wrong. You could say that was my teenage rebellion. Poor Tom paid the price. For a full year we only ate "shake-n-bake" chicken. I have learned to cook other things since then, don't worry.

Now I didn't mind wearing church clothes, as long as they were off by 12:15. I even wore skirts on game days, or for speech and debate tournaments, but most of the time, I was in jeans and t-shirts. Not much has changed. ( I know you are jealous of the black/green leggings in this picture)

I think Taryn is a lot like my mom, in the way that she always dressed nice, and had makeup on and the right jewlery. Me not so much! With a dash of Toms humor.

Lauren is a little mix of Tom, and a little of me.

I just find it amazing that even when you treat kids the same, how different they are.