Roles Clearly Defined

I was very amused today to look out the window and observe Patrick and Carter "working" in the yard. They spent a few hours today building a new ant habitat in our back yard. They have built a great mound and dug a trench around it. They sprinkled skittles on the mound to entice the ants to stay put, as well as water in the trench to trap them...haha!

The thing that caught my eye while watching them were the roles that they automatically assumed. Patrick, who is usually the thinker and planner, stood and watched Carter do the digging of the trench. Of course, Carter was more than happy to do this because he is a doer. He loves activity and doesn't need to think a lot about what he is doing....as long as it is getting done. They were both in their elements.

Even when they played soccer, these same traits came out in them. While all of the other little boys were fighting to get their feet..or any other parts of their bodies...on the ball, Patrick was dreaming of ways to work as a team to get the ball into the goal. When he did come up with a plan, he kicked it to his cousin, who then kicked it into the goal. He was more excited about that goal than if he had made it himself. What was Carter doing? He was just trying to get a piece of the ball.

Today, when Madison decided that she wanted in on the building of the mound, Patrick was more than happy to let her carry water back and forth from the house! How does he do it? I should take some lessons from Patrick on delegating!!