More bits of Ben

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The snow began to fall at a steady pace and as Ben looked outside, he became so excited his body could not contain it and he began jumping up and down.  When we emerged from the store, he spun in a circle, really feeling the falling snow on his skin.  He stuck out his tongue to try to catch the snow so that he could taste it.  He had been waiting for the snow since August, when he started each and every morning by looking out our bedroom window to see if there was any snow.  Yet.  No amount of persuasion would convince him otherwise.  When it finally did snow, some 2 months later, he exclaimed, "I been waiting for this snow!!" 

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Some things about three can be so hard on a parent.  The energy, the saying "no", the constant vigilance for safety. The sudden realization that he has an opinion that is much different from his sister's.  Or his mom's.  Or anyone else's. 

Recently, Ellie had a cold/flu thing going on and I was indecisive about whether or not to send Ellie to school.  First she seemed up for it, so I explained to Ben that we would be taking Ellie and then going to the library.  Ben protested that he did not want to leave, but wanted to stay home.  Then, Ellie's energy plummeted right before we were ready to leave and we suddenly decided that she should stay home.  To which Ben responded that he really wanted to go to the library.  To which I in turn queried whether he was trying to be "difficult".  To which he laughed. 

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Ben doesn't walk, he either bounces or runs.  Or both.  He is a little ball of energy.  He can barely contain his enthusiasm.  When he experiences something, he does so wholeheartedly, without reservation.  Without restraint.  He is a race car taking off.  A rocket shooting through the night sky.  Sometimes when he gets upset, I don't even see him melt into the floor.  One minute he is standing, the next he is flat out sprawled on the floor.  The surface of the floor does not matter or impede his melting.  It is performance art. 

Ben loves to draw and paint and play with playdough and cut thngs with little scissors, leaving a trail throughout the house.  As he creates his artwork, he also creates a story along with

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his artwork.  Many times there is a rocket or a tornado or more recently, a dinosaur.  (T-Rex is his favorite).

One day recently, I brought home balloons.  Five balloons to be exact.  When I ask Ben how many of something he would like, inevitably, it is five.  Five is the biggest he can come up with.  First Ben used the balloons to decorate the downstairs.  Then he used the balloon holders as a "conductor phone" to talk to all of the passengers on his train.  Then he set up a balloon store, where you guessed it, all the balloons cost $5.  He just has this amazing ability to take something like balloons and turn it into a whole herd of fun.  He has shown me again and again and again how fun is truly not a place or thing but a disposition a feeling inside.   He does not need to go anywhere to be entertained or amused, he is already having a good time.  HE is the good time.