Who and Why?

Today was a tough morning.  Neither Moose nor I set our alarm clocks last night.  Thankfully, my bladder has a built in alarm of her own.  But we all didn't get up until 20 minutes before the minivan needed to be motoring across school district lines.  It was pretty close to a "Totally Chocolate Breakfast" for those of you who enjoy the obscure Rolie Polie Olie reference.  Thanks to three kids who didn't care if they brushed their teeth or hair this morning, they made it to school on time.  Of course, I was back there again 35 minutes later delivering the lunches and a box for a diorama project.  But it was definitely a team effort.  Yeah Team!

This frazzled morning (and all without coffee, I might add) had me wondering how this family would ever survive stranded in the wilderness.  This is actually a secret personality test I give individuals.  It comes from the idea that you don't see a person's true self until there is a crisis.  I imagine them lost in the North Woods or on a tiny tropical island.  It is pretty funny to picture a friend with fancy nails using them to dig for grubs.  Would she try to save them, hoping to be rescued before she needs a fill, or find them a useful tool until they popped off, one by one?  And once they were gone how would she eat?  This is how I occupy my mind.  Now you know. 

I have decided that this family would do alright.  In part, because the kids watch any wilderness survival show on TV.  Alone In The Wilderness is the best--a classic PBS special on a man who dropped it all and went to Alaska and built his cabin by hand and lived there.  He filmed and documented it himself.  I think I could carve a hinge like that if Moose will come up with the door.  

I definitely want Big C along.  That boy shines in a crisis.  I will give you an example: two summers ago, Litttle C walked into a wasps nest and was swarmed by the nasty stingers.  Big C heard him screaming and took control.  He sent Miss M to get me.  He yelled loud enough to get Little C's attention and called him away from the nest where, understandably, the little one just froze.  Then he calmly talked to his little brother and pulled off the last few, clinging wasps.  When the crisis was over, he hugged Little C and cried with him out of love and concern.  Wow.  He was 7 at the time.  I want him with me.  Always.  Oh, and he is the one who will figure out how to make the bicycle operated fan to keep me cool on the island.  Our own little "Professor" from Gilligan's Island.

I can't imagine being lost without Little C around either.  For one thing, he likes to run and retrieve and that is very handy, even in the suburbs.  For another, he is the kid who can take the best parts of everyone's ideas and combine them into a great solution.  Must come from being the Third.  And much like Ender Wiggins, he combines the best bits of all of us in one cute little bundle.  Little C has a killer sense of humor and I believe very strongly in the restorative powers of funny.  Also, the babe is cuddly warm and that will be useful if the nights are cold.

None of us would make it without Miss M.  In addition to being brilliant, she is our "Wilson."  She brings empathy and humanity and beauty to our dinner conversations.  Her mind is always asking questions, looking for more, and fully immersing herself in a situation.  She is also our go-to-girl if we need to communicate with any wildlife or fairies.  Miss M is willing to taste anything once.  Now don't go thinking that I would test strange fungi as a food source on my first born.  But that ability to look at something totally foreign and think she will give it a try is terrific.  Plus, if she'll eat it the boys will at least try it too.

Really, with these three along, Moose and I won't have much to do.  Scraps will have been scavenged and assembled into a shelter before I have the sand out of my shoes. Big C and Little C will have a roaring campfire going.  Miss M will have woven flower crowns for all.  And somehow, this desperate situation will suddenly feel like a party.

Feel free to try my test on people you know.  They will never even know you are doing it and it is good exercise for seeing people in new ways.  Take, for example, a certain kid in a certain classroom a couple of years ago.  Tough kid.  Tough situation.  He drove everyone around him crazy.  But, dang, I want that kid with me too.  Maybe not at the Science Museum again (craziest field trip EVER), but in life.  He has found a way to protect himself and project himself in a world that is working against him.  And that is a life skill that can change the world if he finds the inspiration to make this a better place.  

So who would you want with you and why?  Or maybe what surprised you about someone when you put them to the test?