Birth order? Yeah right!

So far, it seems that Gary and I have two molds when it comes to our children. The mold that produced Leia and Nathan and the mold that produced Spencer. According to the studies done on birth order, Leia should be conscientious, tidy, a high achiever, and sensible. I wonder what happened there? Today I received a phone call from Leia's teacher asking me if we could discuss Leia's inattentiveness in class and messy handwriting. Gary is going into school tomorrow early to discuss these issues. Here's hoping her teacher lets us know what exactly we can do about this at home beyond our usual struggles with keeping her focused on the task at hand. Her room is constantly a tip, and tonight Gary asked her to go downstairs and put on her pajamas. 5 minutes later the job is not done and so Gary asks her what is going on. She says "But I was showing Spencer a dance move". And tonight at dinner I was watching Nathan. He was on the move the entire time. Whether it was pulling a face or wagging his head from side to side, he literally could not keep his body still. Something tells me we're going to have the same issues with him once he goes to school.
I reflect on my own school experience. I wouldn't have dared to talk to my neighbor instead of listening to my teacher. I was never satisfied with less than an A, my handwriting always has been particularly neat and tidy, and I had a healthy fear of authority figures.
Don't get me wrong, I adore Leia with everything in me. As someone recently put it, she is a quality little girl. But it's definitely a labor of love to understand her and help her to be everything she is capable of being. There's one thing that you can always say of her and that is she is a lot of fun to be around.
As for my little Spencer. He has tested me to the edge of my limits and patience more times than I care to remember but lately things have begun to change. My Mum noticed it over Christmas. He is calmer, less confrontational, and more willing to accept what I say. He will go straight to his room and clean it when I ask him, not that it ever gets really bad. He more often than not puts his clothes away at night, and is very well behaved in school. He can sit for a long time building legos and at dinner, he remains in his seat without dancing a jig until he has cleaned his plate.
I always hope I can guide my children according to their unique personalities. It's not as easy as I perhaps thought it would be especially as they are so different to myself. I have to remind myself that there's no reason why they should take after me. After all, I have a sneaky suspicion that Leia may end up having a better social life than me.
And speaking of my social life, all I had going on today was a trip to the dentist in which I was informed that my lack of flossing is catching up with me, and treated to the most painful cleaning I've ever experienced. Seems like I will be nursing my bruised jaw all evening as I ponder these thoughts I've outlined. And I daresay I'll be making a date with some dental floss every night from now on!