EmeraldCity, I cannot meditate either. One of my close college friends was a zen monk and he tried to help me for years but my mind refuses to be still (ADHD).
The closest thing I can do to meditation is knitting. It saved my sanity when I thought I was going to lose it when DD was younger.
Old Dad, I often hear that you get one of each (hardest/easiest) and it sounds like that is exactly what happened with your family. DD's toddler class teacher declared after spending 30 minutes with her that DD is an exceptionally strong-willed child and it's going to be very hard for us when she is young but once she is older, we won't be worrying about her much since she'd be driven and independent. I'm not sure if this "prophecy" will come true for DD but it seems to describe your DS pretty well.
