"You and Me, Brother"

My favorite part about being a mom to multiple children is having the opportunity to develop a unique bond with each child and to promote their individual personalities.  Coming in a close second is getting to watch the kids interact with each other and develop their own special bonds as siblings. It’s difficult to describe the sensation- maybe it’s a sense of accomplishment, or a welling up of pride, or a surge of success. Whatever the feeling, for a mom to see her children happily interact with each other is nothing short of blissful.

The other night I was sitting on the bathroom floor beside the tub in my usual spot (I wouldn’t be surprised if the linoleum had an imprint of my butt permanently worn into it) with Johnny on my lap, watching Josie and Jamie enjoy their bubble bath. Josie scooped up a handful of suds and plopped it gently on top of Johnny’s head. She giggled at the sight of her baby brother with a head full of white bubbles. He, in turn, giggled at her gleaming face. Then she laughed because he had giggled at her. So he squealed because of her laugh. They continued like this, laughing and giggling and smiling at each other in turn, for several minutes. I just sat back and smiled and reveled. It was the first sustained period of interaction between brother and sister. And the best is yet to come.

There have been countless days that started out hectic and stressful that were turned around simply because of a cute brother & sister or brother & brother moment. A sweet gesture of sharing, or a gentle kiss on the forehead to calm tears, or an innocent game for two can mean so much more. It’s fun to listen to Josie and Jamie when they are plotting and planning elaborate schemes together. Josie obviously does most of the talking while Jamie does a lot of reinforcing, “uh huh.” When I’m driving I love to look into my rearview mirror to see the kids all entranced with one another and to hear Josie say, “Mom, we’re playing!” or “Mom, he’s smiling at me! I think he likes me!” It warms my heart.

If this is how my mom felt when she saw me with my siblings, then I can see why she ended up with five of us….