Our family has many unique talents, some noteworthy, and, others…less so. One special ability that each of our four children seemed to possess from their earliest moments was called to mind the other night when Justin and I were out on a rare double date with our “sandwich babies.” On the patio of our favorite local café, we talked to Grace about school and her friends, played some games with the two of them, and enjoyed the sunshine. At one point, I caught Grace and Quinn entertaining each other by locking in on an intense stare-down.
The memories came rushing back as the two of them scrunched their faces at one another, bearing that hallmark ability of our four children…“The Bulldog.”
It all started when Grace was a baby. Around six months or so, she started making the “bulldog” face, scrunching up her nose, wrinkling her brow, and sometimes breathing heavily through her nostrils. It always, always made us laugh, and she seemed to be “bulldoggin’” wherever we went.
We always assumed that Grace’s “bulldog” was her own, unique talent. Just a few years later, Brady and Hayden arrived on the scene, and quickly showed us that, in fact, they also innately favored this expression, carrying on our family tradition. Hayden was really the first to perfect the expression that had formerly been owned by his sister, and seemingly on her same timeline.
Just a few months later, Brady, too, had really gotten the hang of things.
When Quinn was born, we knew that only time would tell if the Gagnon trait of a perfect “bulldog” would continue with him. He did not disappoint, perfecting his very own “bulldog,” which brought tears of laughter to all of our eyes. The genes in our family are strong, clearly.
We can’t really classify the bulldog as a “talent”, per se, but it’s a quirk that our family and friends recognize as being somewhat unique to our kids, and, always, always, bring smiles whenever it’s bared. Every family has their hallmarks, and I guess this is one of ours. Only time will only tell if the “Bulldog” is truly genetic and lives on in the next generation!