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Balance


At first I thought this was just a picture for the recycle bin. It doesn't show any great scenery, Caitlin is scowling, it features quite prominently the back of a stranger walking into the distance. I almost hit delete. But instead it's the star of my post. Look at Dylan's little smirk. My kids are many things. They have complex personalities. And yet I kind of feel like this sums them up. If one is happy the other must be sad. I don't really feel like it's schadenfreude. It's more yin-yang. A balance must be maintained. There can be neither too much joy or too much sadness in the family. 

In all of children's stories I have read to my kids, nothing has resonated with me quite as much Richard Scarry's Pig Will and Pig Won't.  One kid is always happy and agreeable, the other not. 
It's curious that the need to be happy or contrary extends well beyond routine things like doing chores or running errands. It complicates fun activities as well. "Who wants to go to the zoo?" "I do!" "I don't." "Who wants to have pizza for dinner?" "I do!" "I don't." But luckily for us the kids flip flop between the two personalities. Neither one has a monopoly on being Pig Will. They both have been Pig Won't. They alternate with each other. And that's why they are still alive!

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