One to Two

One of my earliest memories of life with my sisters is calling my mom at work to complain that my middle sister wouldn’t let me play with her and her friends that were over during the day.

Another memory is riding with my mom to pick up my sister and her friends at the movies and telling her that my sister had boys over when she wasn’t supposed to.

A favorite story to tell is when my middle sister kicked me in the face one day ‘on accident’….and then convinced me to tell my mom I ran into the door because somehow I was going to be in trouble.

Despite those anecdotes. My sisters and I are incredibly close. I don’t consider myself someone who has a ton of friends. There is so much involved in maintaining a friendship. Especially as I have gotten older there are so many additional demands on my time and emotional energy it can be draining to nurture social connections.

My sisters are my best friends. They understand that some days, weeks, months are harder than others. I can call or text them with no context just the specifics of a situation and get a thoughtful response…eventually. There are no expectations just love and support.

Our relationships evolved as we got older. I eventually phased out of the annoying little sister and became more helpful. I could be called when my older sisters needed to be picked up downtown. This turned into late night McDonald’s runs when my sister would be convinced I was responsible for their limited late night menu when she couldn’t get a plain cheeseburger at 1:00 am.

When I was 16 I was hospitalized for an emergency appendectomy. As soon as I woke up from anesthesia I had a lengthy note to read from my sister telling me how much she loved me.

Any time I need advice, direction, support, or comfort my sisters were there. In 2016 at the aftermath of the most tragic event of my life my sister stayed with me when I couldn’t sleep through the night.

Now, my oldest sister and I are coming up on the completion of a home of our own. My kiddos will grow up with an especially unique and active ‘Auntie.’ She is one of my oldest’s favorite playmates. Frequently they can be found together playing when my youngest needs me to nurse or sleep.

One of my biggest fears bringing in my second child was the strain it would put on my relationship with Kennedy. She is a snuggly, loving, emotional little girl with a big personality. I could not figure out how to divide myself in two and meet the needs of both her and her little brother. I stressed that if someone was waiting on me the other would feel neglected. I feared that by adding another I would somehow be subtracting from both.

It took awhile into my pregnancy to realize what I was really giving both of them was the opportunity for a relationship like what I have with my sisters. What I really gave them was a built in best friend.

Already at 2 years old my oldest is incredibly protective of her brother. She is quick to make sure no one else plays with his toys. If ‘brother’ gets sad or crabby she finds him a pacifier or tells mom to help him. She includes him in her play time; and loves it when he smiles, letting everyone know that he is happy.

Most of the time it is chaotic, most of the time I feel stretched too thin. But all of the time my heart is filled with an overwhelming amount of love, joy and pride as I watch their relationship develop. I couldn’t be more thankful that they will forever have each other to grow with, learn with and love with.

Some day they will have their own stories. Some of those they may share with me and some may be special to only themselves. Some day he will beg her for rides to his favorite places. Some day they will fight and yell at each other because they know regardless of the situation; they still love one another. Some day it will be their turn to plan the family holidays.

While I can’t wait to witness every ‘some day’ I love watching them grow together each day.