I'M NOT SICK!!!

            The relationship between siblings is not one that can be described as “typical” or “average” or anything else that we hear on a daily basis when parents talk about their children. Growing up in a sib set of 3 and being the youngest by a great margin, the relationship that I once had with my brothers is not the relationship that I have with my brothers now, and the relationship that I currently have with one brother is completely different than the relationship I have with my other brother. The bond that siblings have, or in certain cases, the lack of a bond is private and intimate, and not something that is really ever verbally discussed, but physically displayed among one another, but I’m not sure that as a parent, you can ever really know how your children feel about each other.  As you all know, I have two children, one boy and one girl and as I have often said…they love each other. I’m always very impressed with how caring Benji is with his sister, and although he feels the need to tattle on his baby sister for pushing him (keep in mind, she’s 1 year old), he takes care of her. It’s not uncommon for me to happen upon him sharing food, toys, and games with her, and tickling her to “make her laugh” if she is crying about something (usually the fact that Benji is in her face and she is annoyed.)

            Last week, I truly realized how blessed I am and how thankful I am to have two kiddos that are so close. I realize that I will most likely be singing a different tune in a few years, but I felt the need to write about this now so it could forever be remembered…and shown to my children when they are 16 and 18 and are fighting about who gets to use the car on Saturday night. A couple of weeks ago the cold, or flu, or “it’s viral, we can’t prescribe anything” type of sickness rolled through our home. Presley first, and then a few days later, Benji.  Adam agreed to take the day off to stay home with our sick cowboy. Well, our sick cowboy did everything his three year old mind could think of to convince Adam and me that he WAS NOT SICK! Although he had a fever from hell and continued to vomit continuously while screaming…obviously he hates to vomit, he WAS NOT SICK! With good reason, we didn’t believe him and couldn’t figure out why he didn’t want to stay home and watch movies all day while Presley went to daycare. He was upset, more than upset, and sad. As I explained to Benji that I was going to take “Pooey” to daycare so he could relax and watch movies all day with Daddy and not have to worry about her stealing the remote, he cried and wanted to go “get his dress on” (this is what he calls getting dressed…someday when I get over the humor of this statement I will address the fact that he needs to re-evaluate what he is actually saying.) As I was putting Presley’s coat on her, Benji yelled out, “she can’t go to school without me, she’s too little.” I’ve always known that Benji loves his lil sister Pooey, but it wasn’t until this moment that it really struck me how much he cares about her and her well-being. Benji was truly upset and concerned that he needed to be around her to watch out for her. I know that once he is at daycare he pays no attention to his little sister, but the fact that he is so aware that he is able to watch out for her hit a nerve in the “mom” part of my heart.