Love is there after all

The arguing seemed to last for hours.

No matter what I did, I could not get my two kids to play cohesively, even if I paid them with candy.

Every couple of minutes I would hear, “mom, get my brother out of my room!” Or, “mom, tell my brother to stop sitting by me.” Followed by my son yelling back, as if he was saying “what’s your problem sister?”

But then something miraculous happened at bedtime.

My daughter was in her own bedroom watching cartoons in bed, while I was in my son’s room getting him ready for bed. As soon as his jammies were in order and I asked, “are you ready for bed?” was when he took off running down the hall (with his stuffed doggy and blanket in hand –just like his sister) towards his sister’s room. In one quick motion, he was up on her bed and cuddled under the covers next to her.

That wasn’t the miraculous part -he would scale anything to be next to his sister. 

The sweetest part was that his sister didn’t yell or push him away. Instead, she put her arm around him and pulled him closer, letting out a smile as she kissed the top of his head.

Of course bedtime was pushed back longer to allow for this to continue. Mainly for me to marvel at what was unfolding in front of my own two eyes.

Eventually he became tired and reached for me to put him to bed in his own crib. Not before he leaned back to hug and kiss his sister goodnight –undoubtedly, she reciprocated.

His love for his sister is mesmerizing. He would follow her into a burning building, that’s how much he trusts her. My daughter loves him too –I know that by the kisses she steals from him when she doesn’t think anyone is paying attention. Or the fact that she’s always concerned for his well-being and becomes emotional when he’s upset. But her love isn’t as obvious as his. It isn’t an “in your face” kind of love.

Their love is as real as the sun rising, but as realistic as any sibling relationship. As they are growing, I’m sure they’ll have days where they love each other and days where neither one of them can do anything right. They will play, they will fight. However, I am content knowing the foundation for their love and relationship is set. With that, I could rest peacefully knowing the arguing and yelling is just a small bump in their everlasting future together.