As I was washing the dishes after dinner tonight the kids were at the table behind me, eating dessert and yucking it up. It struck me that I had no idea what they were talking about. It seemed they were quoting some television show to each other that drove them to hysterics. I wasn’t involved at all.
My first reaction was a pang of sorrow. I was thinking, here it is, the beginning of my ousting. I know there will be a day-shortly-where they will have entire lives together that I have no idea about. I always say, you work so hard to raise kids and if you do your job right, they grow up and break your heart by being able to live without you. So, I was sad. But just for a minute.
The slow smile that came over me betrayed my true feelings. I couldn’t even hear the words anymore. I was just focused on the laughter and I thought, alright, these kids have a pretty good built in set of pals and that is pretty cool. I was overwhelmingly happy for them.
I can picture our dinner table 20 years from now when they’re all home for a visit. They’ll share jokes from these days where their lives were simple and sweet. They’ll tease each other and counsel each other. They will know each other better than anyone else in their lives.
Siblings make your world richer, and livelier, funnier and safer. I am so happy for my kids that they have siblings. It makes The Circus so worthwhile.
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