Smart and Talented do NOT Equal Gifted

I hate it when people think their children are "gifted". It's probably the most overused word of this decade. Everyone can't be special.  Having an aptitude for something doesn't even come close to being "gifted". Now, I'm not saying that we shouldn't encourage excellence at everything we try, but seriously? Gifted? (Snort.) So, with that said, we may actually have a quasi-talented Shortie or two lying around the casa Johnson.

The Fashionista (one half of the dynamic duo) has developed quite an interest, and a tiny bit of an aptitude, for the piano. She's been playing for a couple of months and is already performing at church. Her teacher only took on a handful of summer students, and E made the short list. It's so bad (er, I mean good) that a friend loaned us one of these spiffy keyboards with the 88 fully weighted keys, so that it feels like you're playing a real piano. Now, it's got all of these crazy synthesizer noises to choose from. Before we think Mozart has entered the building, first thing the Shorties learned to do was make farting noises with the keyboard. Naturally.

The Little Flower is an art making maniac. She draws all of the time. She is obsessed with dry erase boards and markers. She can't wait for a blank piece of paper. She paints, sculpts, draws (sometimes even on paper instead of the furniture). She's on fire about it too. When I announced that she was taking summer art classes, she put it on the calendar and made a countdown day thing like an Advent Calendar counting down to Christmas. I kid you not. We bought these really cool personalized autograph books for Disney World. She used hers as a sketch pad, announcing that she didn't want autographs, she wanted drawings. She went on to explain that she would be willing to give out HER autograph, however. Okay then, so she might show a little bit of aptitude in art.

The Number One Son has taken apart every single thing with a motor or mechanism in this house apart and has re-fitted it for some new and interesting purpose. Such as the portable CD players are now fans, and my night light is now some sort of complicated spy equipment. Here is an example of one such contraption. It's a simple circuit. He saw the high schoolers building circuit boards and came home to figure it out for himself. It's bizarre especially in light of the fact that I won't let his father use a hammer inside of the house. His genetic line includes a man who is almost a handyman handicapped person. I'm not exaggerating. So, the Number One Son is pretty good with his hands and building things.

And Naynuh? Well, she's decided that in light of playing on the volleyball team, endless trips to the swimming pool, shopping, movies, and spa visits, she's going to spend the rest of the summer of lying still and being calm. I knew that one of them in the pack had to take after me. Now that's what I call aptitude. She might be the only gifted one in the bunch!