Kid Amnesiac

Hm. I’ve read that all toddlers have an obsessive-compulsive streak to them, and I sure hope that’s the case. Because really, what else could be the explanation for this?

I, rainbow stacker of diapers, nightly inventory taker of toys, and expert folder of socks and undies, did not create this tidy line-up of Thomas engines and cars. Simon did. And he does things like this all the time. On any given night, we will find Simon rushing back and forth from one room to another to line up toy cars, train parts, or stuffed animals on a table, chair, or any other available horizontal surface.

Frequently, the bits are lined up by color, by size, or by both. On the one hand, awesome! Simon is learning to sort by size and color, and if he keeps this up, he’ll be a great help with laundry and tidying up down the road. On the other hand, regular displays of such fastidiousness could be a signal that, to quote a friend talking about me, Simon is wound a bit tight. And while I’d love it dearly if Simon ends up wound a bit tighter than his dad (I seriously don’t know how I could cope with two Matts when it comes to clutter and cleanliness), I sure as heck don’t want Simon to end up as tightly wound as I am.

Not that there’s anything wrong with me, mind you. I think I’m just fine. I just don’t want to live with myself, either! The goal here, as with our desire for Simon’s chin, was for him to strike a happy medium between the extremes of his parents. The fact that Simon also will not eat a cracker or cookie that is broken, that he says “mess” and takes off his bib once it gets too dirty, and that he freaks out if he finds a hair floating in his bath water does not bode well for my hoped for personality compromise.