The Pros and Cons...

I've been reminded lately that with every pro, there is usually a con. Take, for instance, Bennett's love of drawing and writing... This time last year, as we were just getting started in kindergarten, Bennett would barely consent to holding a pencil or marker in his hand, much less enjoy it. Each time a paper came home with something that I could recognize, I saved it, wrote the date on it, and hoped that one day he might be able to draw a person with not only arms and legs, but also all of the features of the face.

Well, once his interest was sparked, in typical Bennett fashion, he took off. He started drawing. All the time. This is definitely a pro - I love to see his creativity in action!

He's drawing constantly. Really. It is so strange to me, but now he asks to draw in between tasks. I love it! Here is a picture of his drawing desk...

And here, you can see that the sides of the desk are filled with pictures as well:

His favorite subjects? Star Wars, of course. Sometimes I get a Scooby Doo or a Charlie Brown. And, every once in a while, I get a family portrait... the problem? Well, sometimes, he draws very realistically:

See how tall and skinny Brad is? Very true. See me? Although I am obviously very happy in the picture (I am jumping up and celebrating), I am noticeably, well, let's just say I'm wider :) I'd count this as a 'con'.

Let's turn to his prolific writing... He can write and read just about anything now. His interest in this was just like drawing - it came over night and seemed to take on a life of it's own. Suddenly he was reading signs all over the place (pro) - and we couldn't spell things in secret any more (con)!

Another 'pro' is that things are clearly labeled in our house:

I've explained several times that 'EXIT' has an 'I', but he continues to tell me that that's not how it's done where he sees it. Interesting.

But, the biggest 'con' to this writing ability came to me very early on Sunday morning. Bennett got up before the agreed time (5:32 to be exact - a full hour before the agreed upon time) and I told him that he could lay on the floor (we've made him a pallet on the floor for these frequent occasions). He continued to talk to me - 'What time is it?' 'Can I get in the bed with you?' 'Is daddy here?' 'Can you feel my loose tooth?' 'When will our Halloween costumes get here?'. I finally responded with 'You are making me angry. Please be quiet' or something along those lines and he got quiet. I awoke a few minutes later to find this note on our bed:

In case you can't read it, it says "Dear mommy and daddy I have decidid to stay in my room all day becos noone loves me any more. Your Son Bennett Ray Steenwyk"

Definitely a 'con'.

Just in case you were wondering - he came out of his room about 10 minutes later to make sure we had seen the note. He didn't return to his room.

Oh, and he knows that we love him very much! :)