The Goat Boys: Up Close and Personal

As a mother of twins, I know the importance of acknowledging each child's unique and different characteristics...so here is a glimpse into the personalities of "the goaties."

Meet Elliot, or as we call him, Ellie, Leelee, or AG (Annoying Goat) One. The larger of the two by some ten pounds,  he is Steinbeck's Lenny to his smaller brother 's George. Loveable and trusting but not the brightest buckling, he is a follower, rarely straying far from his brother or his "peoples." His favorite place to be is on your lap - adorable when we first brought him home but somewhat daunting now as, at thirty pounds, he lunges onto the lap of anyone sitting in his vicinity. (For a short while I worried I had a blood clotting disorder until I realized that the plethora of semi-circular bruises on my thighs were the same shape as Ellie's hooves!) A snuggler, he loves kisses and watches us always with those huge blue eyes. Ellie is a big scaredy-cat, terrified of rain and storms (when he finds refuge on the windowsill overlooking our kitchen sink, shaking until the weather calms). All of our family members have taken turns sitting with Ellie in the Tupperware House during storms (including my husband, during a recent tornado watch, which I found out later.) El is also very attached to his security sweatshirt, which he sleeps with every night.

Then we have Emerson (yes, as in Ralph Waldo), Emmie, AG Two, or as we often call him in frustration, Demon Spawn. (I am not proud of this, but if you lived with the rascal...) Em was the runt of the litter (his mother had four kids), but what he lacks in size he makes up for in pure energy. He is like DC Comics' "The Flash," and when he takes off running no one can catch him. A month ago he ate an entire holly bush in our yard (before we saw it on the "poisonous plants for goats" list) - and we attributed his behavior to the main side effect of holly ingestion, which is hyperactivity. However, the holly has long cleared his system and he is now working his way through the lilacs (a goat-safe shrub, though I really wish he'd eat a weed once in a while!) and still as crazy as ever. He can shred an entire Sunday newspaper into tiny pieces in about ten minutes. Em is fearless, plays outside heedless of thunder and lightning, and will only be a lap goat when his endless leaping, running and wild antics have driven him to complete exhaustion. Somewhat scrawny and a bit skunk-like in his appearance, he is a showoff and will eagerly do tricks just to impress us (though he'd never turn down an animal cracker either!) Gotta love you both, Goat Boys!