If The Girl was born to bring peace to our family, The Middle One came around just when we needed a little joy. It’s sad that I mark my children’s births with the downward spiral of my mom’s life, but that is the truth of my world. Danny arrived when our lives were literally falling apart. The Husband was 4 months out of work. We were onto move number three as new jobs necessitated new houses. My mother was in the final months of her battle with cancer and she was beginning to let It win.
Then, in the midst of all this chaos, after a two week and 15 hour delay, My sweet First Boy came quite reluctantly into our world. He was battered and bruised and slept like a perfect little angel right next to me for three days of postpartum bliss. If I could have stayed in the cocoon of my warm hospital during that cold December I would have. He allowed me to forget for a while that anything was wrong with the world.
The Middle One has brought immeasurable joy since the minute he arrived. First off, I know I’m his mom, but others would agree-he’s adorable. His blond hair is almost white in the summer and his eyes are so blue that he sneezes every time he walks into the sun. When someone coined the phrase “he’s all boy” I swear they meant it for this one. He’s messy and loud and funny and precocious. He has two speeds: fast and asleep. He love racecars and superheroes. Every move he makes has a corresponding sound effect. He loves bodily noises and watching himself pee provides endless moments of entertainment.
You will laugh with him and at him and sometimes to keep from killing him. Then, when you least expect it and probably when you are at your wit’s end, he’ll speed by you and plant a kiss on your hip and yell, “love you mom” and you will forget any trials he may have caused you that day. He fills your heart like no other. Because, in addition to all these boy things, The Middle One is outwardly kind, polite and sweet. He adores his older sister and loves to make her proud. He seeks her approval so much that he is not above dressing in heels. The Middle One takes care of his little brother with a quiet tenderness that stops you in your tracks. When He performs the song Oh Danny Boy (and man does he perform!) with perfect pitch, it makes even the toughest person in the room tear up.
