So the ‘juggling’ is going ok… I even managed an hour’s swing ball with the boys in the sun after school today.

 

It reminded me how different they are.

 

Willy has gritty determination.  He wants to win.  You can see it in the way he holds his racket, the grimace on his face, the strong stance, the way he focusses on the ball and whacks and whacks and whacks and goes for it every time the ball comes by.    He is a little fighter, quick, gritty, determined.

 

My only way to beat him was to maim him.  Entirely by accident of course!   A hard hit of the ball that ended up on the side of his head…. Ouch.  He had beaten me 5-1.  He needed a rest anyway.

 

So then it was time for Tom.  Tom had been hitting balls against the wall, competing with himself quite happily.

 

When it comes to swingball – he is totally the opposite to Willy.  He is the joker!  Laughing, hitting the string and messing about.  If he is losing, he calls ‘time out’ and distracts me to have a few hits!  Then he collapses laughing.  He is just a joy to be around and our tummy’s hurt from laughing.      No one ever wins!

 

Unless… unless I tell him to focus.  Tell him to focus on winning, beating me…   give him an incentive of TV time.. And then his natural flair comes out.  He is an elegant tennis player (and that translates in to swing ball too!), graceful and powerful… and he beats me in a few hits.

 

I love their differences.

 

I love that their differences don’t stop them from being friends… watching them play swing ball together looks like a dance… each of their traits rubbing off on each other.  Tom laughs at willy’s competitiveness, Willy laughs back…. Willy fights to win and Tom focusses to fight back… he can’t let his little brother win.

 

I love the way that this is a pure demonstration of how two entirely different characters can enjoy each others company by blending or bending their characteristics… while still being true to themselves.

 

It’s a bit like marriage.

 

Allowing each other the space to have live by their own values, but having a common set of values to live by as a unit, a team with a common goal.

 

It was good to be reminded of that today in the sun, playing and watching a simple game.