My favourite hobbit...

When I lived abroad and was pregnant I had no other young mums that I knew.

When you are pregnant you have a thousand questions that you need answering, and having exhausted Google I finally joined a mum's group.

There were a fair few mums in the group, and whilst the majority of them lived in the UK, some also lived in Canada, America and other countries too. They all had different backgrounds, different opinions and sometimes there were clashes of personalities on the 'board' and women left, but through most of it many remained.

(Let's be honest, if you stick over twenty pregnant hormonal women in a room it is bound to happen!)
Since returning to the UK three years ago the group has developed and those who truly do get on have branched off into their own groups, one of which I am very proud to be a part of. We catch up on Facebook fairly regularly, and it may be just to moan about something that has irritated us, or it may be just to share some good news, however in all it is a really nice bunch of women from across the UK who are there for support in which ever way it is required. We have even met up on a couple of occasions and shared a sandwich or two whilst watching our children play.

This morning there was a bit of a debate and general gnashing of teeth on Facebook, having discovered that one of the women that was originally in the group (but no longer a friend of any of ours) had been interviewed by a national newspaper. She has four children, and was happy to admit nationally that one of her children was by far her favourite, and even went on to say that this specific child was spoilt more, given more time and loved more than any of the others.

It has shocked people and many actually took time to comment on the online newspaper's article, to think that anyone, particularly a mother could deliberately single out one of their children as their favourite...let alone make it blatantly obvious to the other siblings.
So although I have mentioned my hobbits on numerous occasions, I thought that today I would talk about my favourite hobbit.

Now, collectively my three hobbits are a whirlwind of uncontrolled testosterone and energy...they talk fast, play hard, fight with genuine fists and will still, on occasion, expose themselves if they think it is funny...so not much change to adult men really just a tad less controlled....but individually they are very different.

Spider-Man is a sensitive lad. He is deeply affected by others and how they behave towards him, even though he hides all this behind pretending to shoot things and James Bond type games. He demonstrates kindness to others younger than him, and is always keen to show friendship. He loves story telling and writing letters to people he cares about or misses. He is my favourite Spider-Man of all...

Then there is Batman...who instinctively knows if I or any of us needs a hug. I don't know how he does it,  but he is always the one who will pick up on the slightest change in feelings in others and respond with affection. He is very protective of others and will always enquire about their welfare. He is bright and articulate for a six year old and will gladly recap a storyline of a film if any of us are unsure...he is my number one Batman.

Then, last but not least there is Superman. On his own he manages to be as loopy as a box of frogs...he has comic timing, warmth and can act out a good begging scene to get more sweets. He can also dance some seriously good moves, as actually they all can...but Superman has to be the absolute best Superman I know.

None of them are more important than the other because I love them all equally, and individually none of them could be more my favourite than any other because they are so different. What is sad about the mother who was interviewed in the article is that she has never bothered to notice what attributes her other three children have, she has never taken the time to see who they are but focused her attention solely on one.

Boy, is she missing out! Each hobbit is my favourite...and whilst they may try my patience at times, I am incredibly lucky to have such favourites in my life, and if you ever get to know them, they'd be your favourite hobbits too.