Joy

It is a beautiful sunny day here.  We sent the kids out to play after breakfast so that party preparations could begin.  BB dressed himself in his firefighter uniform, along with a winter hat and mittens.  EG came running in hot pursuit, dressed as a bumble bee in tennis shoes.  The bee costume has a hood so she saw no need for a hat.

The sunshine streamed into our kitchen as I sipped tea and my husband ate his cereal. We planned the day and occasionally looked out the window at our bee and firefighter.  After my husband took off for errands, I began to bake the cake (second cake...longer story).  Sunshine.  Smell of chocolate cake powder in the air.  And the sight of our kids out the window.  Joy.

At one point I looked out to see both of them laying on their stomachs under the ball catching net (probably feels like a tent to them).  Their young heads are close together, while their feet kick in crisp air.  The dog bounced around them, her breath forming clouds around them.  Every once in awhile they would pop up and run around then come back to the same spot and snuggle back up together.  Something about the scene amazed me.  My babies.  Out there, together in the world.  There they were. 

What on earth were they up to?

It hit me that as much as I wanted to go out to see what they were talking about, playing, creating, my presence would have ruined it for everyone.  They were out in our small yard becoming their own selves...and today, I watched their relationship develop.  She can talk.  He can listen.  They can take turns.  Together, they can plan and plot and dream.  I know they were sharing the beginnings of what it means to have siblings.

It is siblings that know your story from the beginning...in the best conditions they have your back like no one else in your life ever will.  From my experience, the honesty, loyalty and love that comes from your sister or brother can not be matched, or recreated.  While you can have a full, rich and productive life without one, I wouldn't have wanted to go it alone.

Increasingly, I realize that we aren't just raising children, we are creating a family.  And today I realized something else, I live with a brother and sister...young people who have their own relationship...just them, together.

I didn't go out to the yard.  Hours later, I haven't even asked what they were up to.  It wasn't about me.  It was their moment and I am just so blessed to have caught a glimpse of it.

To my own brother and sister...thanks for it all, and I love you.