He has recently
volunteered to help with her evening bath. It has made her a more independent
bather because brother is not ready to wash all
of her yet. They have a routine- he pretends to drink the bath water out of the
red cup we use to wet her hair. And she admonishes him, “ Eww, that’s gross.
You’ll get sick!” But if he forgets the script, she yells at him to Drink the water!
She can be fickle
with him- pushing off his brotherly advances when he just wants to give her a
hug as he leaves for school. There is a desperate force within him to get all of his time in with her- leave his imprint. When the time comes that he is not here to
see her wake or go to sleep, he’ll know his love is always transcribed on her
little heart.
So when she asks for ice cream when he’s looking after her,
I try not to get in the way despite the fact that she is a horrendous eater and
dessert is not justified. They tip their bowls and celebrate the messes on
their faces. He will always be her treat- not just another person in the house
to contend with for attention and time.
She came into our lives at
a big turning point in his adolescence and he learned to make sacrifices. But he never minds sacrificing his
dignity to entertain her- dressing in my old clothes and her bonnet. She beams
with pride as he adorns her with a real baby
giraffe fur coat that he hunted down for her.
So, even though he is supposed to be watching her and keeping her out of
my hair so that I can finish a project, I am compelled to pause when he calls
for my attention. Look at us, we are
ready for tea! He must truly adore her because he knows as I am snapping
their picture, I will upload it to Facebook in a few minutes.
He didn't know, when she was born, how much she would matter. What a gift to have someone to help you delve into and
appreciate the chapters that reside and unfold between your lives.
