Goofballs

As my kids start to go to school, classes, camps, parties, and playdates, I am starting to get feedback that gives me a sense of how others perceive my kids. People view some kids as smart, some kind, some funny, some pretty, mean, athletic, creative--you know what I mean.

So what do they think of C and D? They are funny. Their teachers at school tell me they are the funniest kids in the class--they have the teachers and other kids laughing all day long. Their gymnastics teacher calls them "the Giggle Girls" and their swimming teacher has been known to remind C that "You can't laugh and swim at the same time." Other parents often tell me that C and D "crack them up."

Sometimes the Alpha Mom in me worries that they need to be a little more focused at times (I was watching them in gymnastics one day and D was running around being the goof of the class. in the middle of one of her antics she stopped, turned around, grinned at me and yelled, "Hi Mommy!" For a second I considered pretending I didn't know her). But I have asked their teachers if their goofiness makes them disruptive and--maybe they are lying to me--but they generally say that they are very well behaved, that they are just being 3 year olds, and at most they sometimes need a little redirection. And if being goofy makes them enjoy things like swimming, gymnastics, soccer, etc. then I'm all for it.

So, while I don't think you can read too much into anything your kids do at this age (good or bad), I've decided that being funny is a pretty good thing. I mean who doesn't want to be funny?!

And unlike other things, funny lasts a lifetime.

Then again, maybe people just think that the girls dress funny.