Happy Birthday, Hudson and Harper!
Today is our twins’ birthday! Hudson and Harper are 11 years old today. I can’t believe it. When your babies are born, it’s typical to think about their first steps, first words, first day of kindergarten, even graduating high school, their wedding day, what career they’ll choose. But what about 11? It’s kind of a vague age that gets jumbled into the cloud of childhood. You never really think, “I wonder what my babies will be like when they’re 11.”
We thought it would be fun to give our readers a little glimpse into our kids’ personalities as we celebrate them and who they’ve been these past 11 years! And since this is a finance blog, we’ll throw in a little talk about how different personalities affect finances.
Harper is our analytical thinker. She asks smart questions and really likes to figure things out. She likes to be right and to be the one who knows the answer. There is also a little touch of skepticism with her…she’s not going to be made a fool for anything! We had the kids at Sea World one time when the kids were four years old, and Harper could not drop the issue of the costumed Shamu. “Daddy, is that just a person dressed like that? It has to be because he’s not in the water.” I kept trying to distract her with photo opportunities, trying to keep her little, but she wouldn’t let it go, which is another trait of her’s– persistence.
Harper has a gentle, sweet spirit and loves to plan things out. She cares for animals and has a big heart. She’s super detailed and the most organized person in our family. One time she asked Kaimey, “When we get home can I organize your shoes in your closet?” Um, sure? She cleans out our pantry on her own accord and gets excited about cleaning out drawers. This is a HUGE gift to our family, although we’re still working on prioritizing and toning it down. Sometimes we’ll need to pick up the house and Harper gets zoned in on organizing stuffed animals in some arbitrary particular order when there’s other pressing tasks. But we’re just happy to still see some glimpses of childhood, since she often seems more responsible than some adults.
Hudson is our fun-loving, up-for-anything kid. He loves people and the worst moments of his life are any time he’s been alone. Kaimey often tells him he’s the most positive person she’s ever met. He will have dropped something valuable because he’s being silly with it and immediately respond with delight, “At least it didn’t break!” The other day we started the car and heard the final few notes of a song we love on the radio. I said disappointingly, “Oh man, we missed that song!” and Hudson goes, “But we got to hear part of it!” Literally, only the last few notes. He always looks on the bright side, and I want to be more like that when I grow up.
Hudson fully embraces all things. He loves anything new he’s introduced to. He’s easily impressed and excited about new opportunities and experiences. In contrast to Harper, at Sea World, he would never even question anything about these large stuffed whales that want to take pictures with him. He shows up for it with sincere awe and glee about how wonderful it is.
Also in contrast to Harper, Hudson isn’t necessarily one to naturally want to spend a lot of time figuring something out. Whereas Harper will really think about an answer to a question to make sure she’s right, Hudson prefers to just throw out lots of guesses and just hope one works. No shame in being wrong one thousand times by guessing things that don’t make any sense! Because Mr. Positive is just having fun in the guessing process, no need to stress about actual correct information. We often need to remind him to really think through a question or problem and show him he’s capable of it.
We love seeing these different personalities and how they apply to lots of things in life: school, hobbies, trying new things, relationships, and yes, finances.
You might have guessed that financially, Harper is more of a calculated, intentional shopper and Hudson more of a spontaneous shopper. Harper likes to really make sure what she’s buying is exactly what she wants, even if it’s the $25 fidget spinner you may have read about in this blog post. Hudson loves the possibilities of what he could buy and typically commits to the first thing that catches his eye.
People tend to think of girls as the ones who like to shop and boys the ones who dread it. I would say our kids are the opposite. Hudson loves to head out with a wallet of cash and see all the new things he gets to be excited about. He wants them all! I think Harper gets kind of stressed about it (unless the parents are the ones spending the money!) because she puts so much pressure on herself to make the “right” choices.
When teaching your kids about finances, or even growing yourself, it’s important to consider personality traits. Our personalities have an effect on every aspect of our lives, finances are no different. It’s wise to see how your personality is affecting your financial life and what changes you may need to make to bring a more healthy balance. I’d love to help you see where you can relax a little or where you may need to make yourself structured a little more, so reach out to me!
It’s easy with siblings to compare and contrast them, defining their personalities in light of the other, especially with twins! But really our kids are more similar than different. They are both thoughtful, hard working, timid at first but outgoing when they’re comfortable, and silly. This is 11, and we are so grateful to God that he gave us the gift of being their parents. Happy Birthday, Harper and Hudson!
