Wacky Zacky- part 2

Yesterday I made a comment to another homeschooling mother about my Wacky Zacky. I said that I would love to have my older two boys home for as long as possible and send little Zack off to boarding school. (You know, the kind where the live someplace else?) I was joking, of course, and I am sure she knew that. But sometimes when you blog, you can only write bits and pieces of your life, and it's difficult to paint the full picture. Zack is wild & crazy and he sure knows how to make BIG messes, but 98% of the thoughts I have about this kid are positive & happy. I often feel grateful that he lives in our home and is a part of our family. It's unfortunate that I choose to document the 2% of our day when Zack is driving me up the wall. I guess I turn to the blog when I have no where else to run.

There are so many good things to say about Zack.. He has more creativity in his pinky finger than my other kids combined. Unfortunately, his CREATIVITY leads him to "experiment" with other mediums, such as paint, glue, bug spray, sunscreen, and anything else that can make a mess quickly. He is imaginative and is always thinking outside the box. I love him for that and often compliment him on his unique way of expressing himself. His artistic abilities truly amaze me (and have since he was a baby). Last week, he sat down to color at our favorite library. Zack loves this particular library because they keep new markers out for the kids to color anytime they want. Zack usually goes through 5-6 sheets each time we visit. He will sit down, whip up a masterpiece and bring it to me before Luke can undo his buckle and get out of the car. The other day, he handed me the following picture and I said, "Wow, Zack! What did you color?" He looked at me and said, "Duh! It's a giraffe with his tail on fire!" Disturbing? Yes, but I am so impressed with his tri-colored flame that I can only feel proud to have such a creative little son..
Zack is ENTHUSIASTIC about anything and everything he does. Problem is, when he doesn't want to do something, he won't do it. But when he's on board, you know there is a party waiting to happen. I've said many times before that it's not what Zack says, but how he says it. He is energetic and spastic and just so lovable. I just can't stay mad at him for very long... because when he opens his mouth to talk, I end up smiling. He knows it, too, and uses his personality to manipulate all of us. I find myself telling the older boys, "No matter what Zack says, do NOT laugh because he's in trouble." We have to stay strong as a team and Zack knows that if he can get one of us to crack, he's won the battle. Since Simon's birth, we've lost our edge because Zack has recruited Simon to his team. The baby just adores his older brother and will laugh at anything he says or does (because with Zack it's all about the presentation). And once Simon is down for the count, the rest of us follow suit and end up laughing too. He's a puppet master, that one. And, most of the time, we're fortunate to be his audience.

I admire Zack because he is DETERMINED. If he puts his mind to something, he's going to do it. He doesn't want or need help from anyone--- unless he's cleaning his room. Zack has always been independent, but the older he gets, the more I realize how determined he is. This past summer we went to a water park with my family. Zack and all his older cousins wanted to ride the big waterslides, but they would only let you ride if you were a certain height. Zack was really disappointed knowing that his older brothers got to ride, but he couldn't. There were no lifeguards at the bottom of the slides and floating devices were prohibited.. so I told Zack that he would have fun with Simon in the kiddie pool. But this would not do... not for my new little swimmer. The older kids found out that anyone who could swim an adult lap would get a special pass to ride the big slides. As soon as Zack heard the rule, he was in that adult pool swimming as fast as he could. I didn't think he could do it (because the laps were LONG) but sure enough, he swam the lap and got his ticket to ride. I told him how proud I was after he finished swimming and he looked at me and said, "I told you I would!" One of the slides was particularly scary, so I decided to ride it first. It was a dark tunnel with a big drop at the beginning. While sliding down, I was so stressed that Zack was coming after me. He was so little and I was sure he was going to kill himself. I waited patiently for him to come down and when he did, I couldn't see which end was his feet and which was his head. He came out in a tight ball and literally skidded across the water. I swam to him and asked him if he was okay. He took a deep breath and said, "I don't think I'm gonna ride that one again." A line which still has me laughing today.

Zack is reading up a storm and is constantly taping little notes and signs for us around the house. I've saved a number of them and need to scan them in the computer. He'll make a big mess and leave it with a note saying, "I'm SORY". He will plug the sink in the bathroom and let the water run for a while. Instead of cleaning up his mess, he will get a crayon and a piece of paper and write "WET FLOR" with an arrows pointing to all the water. It can be frustrating finding little notes like this, but most of the time it makes me smile. He is who he is and I wouldn't change him for the world. But I do wish his face would stay clean for more than 2 minutes at a time...


PS. Sunscreen comes off mirrors easily. Spray it with degreaser from the kitchen. Get a bucket of warm, soapy water and wipe it down several times. Top it off with glass cleaner and it's as good as new.