I am the Mum to two gorgeous, fiery tempered, loving, stubborn redheads and a recent mousey curly tot with his own unique style! Growing up, I was the blonde blue eyed child and my husband is part Hungarian, so imagine a very much dark haired rugged beast. You could only imagine our surprise 10 years ago when our first beautiful ginger came flying into the world.
“Where does their hair come from?” people ask us every where we go.
“Eee, that’s rare that he has the blue eyes too, they’ re the ones you need to watch”, they wink (For what? I ask myself).
Old dears with a grey shampoo and set often stop us to reminisce and say how much their hair was like it, and add... “oh, I bet they have a temper on them”, of course, with agreement I add, “absolutely”, but then think to myself, I think every child has an astounding temper despite the shade of their lovely locks. However, they do get so many compliments, its actually quite remarkable, and over the years I hear the same things and just smile and nod along. The truth is, I have no clue how I ended up with two red headed little people. As soon as the sun comes out I make a dash for the factor 50, of course, they obviously have the fair skin to match.
Despite their similar hair colour, they are so different, chalk and cheese and the new one, wow, he’s wild, unique and independent! More recently my sister keeps commenting on how watching my middle boy is just like watching his dad. The way he walks, moves, ponders over things with so much thought. He absorbs everything, he is a chilled, gentle soul (don’t be fooled, this little guy does have his moments!)
A while ago we went for a walk and he just sat down and said ‘look at the view’. Ironically, when the hubby takes his time and is digesting everything, it drives me crazy! We are always waiting for him, in the supermarket, leaving the house, you name it…waiting for Daddy. So this lack of urgency and laid back vibe that I see in the boys in my life amazes me at how endearing it is in my middle son and how irritating I find it in my husband. Nonetheless, I can definitely see the make up of his Dad within Ralph.
And her? well, My girl… she can lose it! She is a perfectionist, determined, particular and that’s just the way she finds things need to be. I hold my hands up, I can be a tad obsessive at home, and like things to be just a certain way. Not my best feature, I will openly admit! Florence is wonderfully creative, enthusiastic and frighteningly intelligent for ten (always has been) “let me spell this backwards for you”, she would insist from being age five.
She keeps her emotions deeper than Ralph, I already see this in her. Since becoming a Mum, I have become more outward with my emotions. I am more affectionate and forthcoming with hugs and kisses, when I became a mum I just found it was within me constantly, (admittedly harder to deliver when they insist they absolutely cannot put on their own socks and we all have to be out of the house in 5 minutes). The older I have gotten, the easier I have found it to express if I’m happy, down or generally ticked off. I am keen to watch over this side of Flo and nurture it to ensure she grows to express her emotions openly and hopefully, always confide in me.
Now, the new one? Well, we are still figuring this one out. This kid loves to dance, he is forward, confident and extremely....let's say wilful. At the moment I can definitely see traits of his big sister. But I also think he is establishing his place and importance in this busy, crazy and loving household. So with Rupert we will have to watch this space and see how his character begins to develop. He knows how to communicate and explain what he wants. and he loves to be the joker!
It’s amazing how your children develop their own little characters; full of personality with Daddy’s eyes and Mummy’s nose, his patience, my perseverance. They really are a blend of our best bits, yet still with a sprinkling of themselves. Even Daddy’s snail pace, although dreadfully annoying, means he is thorough. And my regimental attitude helps keep things organised, we all have an ironed uniform and homework is in on time.
We all want to claim that our children get their best bits from us. All three of them have big wide feet just like Daddy, which I know Flo will detest in seven years when she is trying to cram them into stilettos. And I will assume it’s this she hates and not the fact she has inherited Mummy’s large size 8’s (on the flip side she can share my shoes).
So the next time I am stopped in the supermarket and I am asked the red hair question, I am going to reply with; “Actually, extensive research conducted by Britain's DNA has found that more than 40% of the population carry the mutated MC1R gene that’s responsible for red hair. So in fact, both parents must carry the gene to be able to spawn a ginger baby, which lies at 25% if they’re not ginger themselves, but still carry the secret gene…
But she gets her dance moves from me!”