“When you grow up, what do you think you want to be?”
”A daddy.“
”Well, you can be a daddy for sure, but what about your job? What do you want to do for work?”
”I just want to be a daddy. That’s all.”
My firstborn was always happy and full of love. So much love that at 18 months old, when he met his baby brother for the first time, he was trembling. I’ll never forget watching him walk over to the tiny crib at the hospital. He was bursting with excitement and love. This baby brother was his. A new way to love.
At home, he wanted to help. Once he even covered his baby brother with a blanket. His entire baby brother, face and all.
Over the years they were each other’s best friends. Others sought them out as they were perfectly content playing just the two of them. They had their own bedrooms, but were always together in one of them.
Fast forward to the days leading up to dropping our older son at college. There was this new tension in the house.
“I can’t wait until you leave.”
“Good because I can’t wait to leave!”
I came to realize this was how they were handling the change about to come their way. Two best friends being pulled apart for the first time. They had to create a reason that it wouldn’t hurt as much as it did.
Now twenty-four and twenty-two, these brothers could not be closer. One in NJ and the other in Texas, but that distance has not separated them. There is too much love there. I hear them on the phone every day. I give one news about the other, but they already know it.
I hope as life takes them in new directions, they always stay this close. My husband and I gave them each this special gift, the gift of a brother. In return, they gifted us a full heart. ♥️