No one admits it. Everyone seems to deny it. Yet, we all have one. The favorite kid. Whether you have one or going on 10 like we do, thereโs a favorite. Sure, we flat out lie to them and say we donโt have a favorite, but if Iโm going to mom-up and shave the side of my head, the least I can do is be honest:ย YesโฆI tend to favor a kid here and there and I donโt even feel bad about it. Why, do you?
Okay, letโs get Webster for a momentโฆ according to Merriam, she says that one of the definitions of favorite is: noun: a person or thing that is especially popular or particularly well liked by someone. ย This matches perfectly with my favorite kid. I like them. They are popular to me. I mean, every day I get to call their name, be around them, and even swoon a little bit as if I was spending the day with Justin Bieber or Taylor Swift! This is a neat little kid I got!
Letโs sit and ponder this for a moment. Iโve got 9 distinct personalities manifesting themselves every single day in my home. Do you really believe my favorite stays constant?!?ย Oh h*ll no!ย
Theyโll turn on you as quick as the 2-year-old will pull off a diaper and squeal away in a free, chunky-butt-waddle run across the kitchen.
I could have a favorite for the two hours we sit and just mesh well together. However, later that evening, another may roll in and โover-meshโ their connection with me and guess whatโฆ
A new โfavoriteโ.
Having a favorite is all about recognizing, appreciating, and taking notice of each personโs unique attitude, personality, humor (or lack thereof), and their character traits. There are honest times that I just donโt like to spend my whole day with a particular child. Our personalities clash and Iโm okay with that. Theyโre not my โfavoriteโ.
I can be content and a loving parent without bending over backward trying to force an awkward relationship with someone I normally wouldnโt naturally gravitate towardsโฆeven if itโs my own kid.
Love isnโt the issue.
Just because you carried a human being in your womb for 9+ months doesnโt automatically mean youโre destined to be besties for the rest of your lives. My โfavoriteโ may change from day to day but I tend to relate really well with 1-3 kids better than I relate to the others. Thatโs just fact (for me anyway). Itโs not leaving anyone out, treating them differently, or loving them any less.
So yeah, I have a favorite 13-year-old (and no, I donโt have twins) that year. I may have a โfavoriteโ daughter out of the current four I have. I may have two favorite sons out of the 5 I have. I have favorite personalities I like to be around more than others.
The dictionary may have its own definition of โfavoriteโ that is closely related to how I feel about a certain child/individual, but all in all, truth be told, I do have a couple favorite kids.
We just โmeshโ well together with our personalities, likes and dislikes, and connections on a deeper level. We have popular interests and our similarities are well-liked by the both of us. So yeah, I have a favorite kid(s), moment to moment โ some longer than others!
Photo Credits: AndiL.
