You and your brother

My girl,

It’s been quite some time since I’ve written to you here. Busy times and all that. I’m not sure you will remember this time in all of its chaos and craziness. In fact, I hope you won’t remember the details of these days that found Mommy and Daddy always running here and there, whipped up in such a frenzy all of the time trying to get ‘it all’ done between yawns and desperate gulps of coffee. I hope, for us both, that those memories fade.

But I hope you never forget that these were the months when we all fell in love with a certain little boy who rocked our world. These were the months when you became a big sister, a role it seems you were born to play and one that you play with so much pride and love. I have never seen a big sister so proud of her brother, so eager to love and care and nurture. I have never seen a three year old act so patiently.

I don’t remember my early, big sister days. There are a few stories of that time, none of them flattering, though I’m sure you’ll hear them all. Stories of me stealing my baby brother’s toys, acting out, things many consider to be typical big sister stuff.

I will have no such stories for you.

Instead, I’ll remind you of the lengths you would go to elicit a smile or a laugh from his little baby mouth. Of all of the times when you’d drop what you were doing to go pick up the toy he dropped.

Of all of the times he grabbed a fistful of your hair as you leaned in for a hug or a kiss. How you winced but immediately went back for more.

The hugs and the kisses were worth the pain of lost hair for you.

I’ll remind you that we brought him with us to wake you up each morning. Because each night you begged that his be the first face you see when you open your eyes to the new day.

So often, Daddy and I will catch you two in a moment. Smiling at each other after naps, playing together in the living room after dinner, hugging before bedtime. And our hearts grow with pride and love and excitement. This is what we want for you. I want for you this sibling relationship that I don’t have, that I’ve only had glimpses of during my 30 years as a big sister.

We want for you this beautiful, untarnished relationship. We want you to meet his gaze of adoration and love with one of nurturing and love. We want you both to create these bonds with each other. Sister and brother. Family.

So that is our promise to you both. That is our never-ending gift to you. We will continue to set the stage for this relationship. We will continue to nurture the little buds of love and caring and watch them blossom.

You two are lucky to have each other. I’ll see to it that you never forget that.

All my love,

Mommy