Thicker Than Water...

It really is an interesting relationship that siblings have. Friendships develop without much of a choice really...you are invariably thrown into this life with other humans that share the same genes and voila...siblings. As the oldest child I have two younger brothers whom I have always been close with that share my particular gene pool. Mostly we have gotten along fairly easy, some times better than others, but always sharing the understanding that blood is thicker than water.

Oh, we've definitely tested those bonds over the years. There was the one time I dropped my brother off of a second story deck by prying his fingers off of the railing one at a time. (That went over REALLY well with my mom...) There was another time that I provided alcohol for youngest brother that ended VERY VERY badly (another one that went over well with my mom) and of course all of the times not really appropriate to mention on this forum. Yes...we've had our "moments" to say the least.

I often look at my own two children and wonder about the bond that ties them together. On Sienna's second day of life we decided to get Devin a bit closer to her to really introduce him to his new baby sister. As a crazy 18 month old we weren't too sure how much he really realized about the situation other than someone else was taking mommy and daddy's time. He climbed up on the bed beside her and peered into her small shriveled face as if he was trying to recognize someone...then the promptly picked up the wipe container and chucked it at her head.

Yeah...not a great start.

The relationship between my two children has grown over the past few years...they are either loving on each other or completely driving each other insane. Usually if I ask who was responsible for something happening the guaranteed answer will be "Sienna did it..." Common phrases in our house tend to be "She's bothering me...she's looking at me...she's breathing on me..." At times like these where I am at my wit's end all I can think to say in response is... "FOR THE LOVE OF GOD...GET USED TO IT!!"

There are also the tender moments that are few and far between but sweet enough to last a lifetime. There's Devin standing up to a boy at the park screaming, "That's MY sister and she's MY Sienna...", which really means "that is MY sister and I am the only one allowed to terrorize her so BACK OFF!" Or the times when Sienna gets into trouble with something that she has done and Devin will come to her rescue by saying, "Don't worry Sienna, mommy is just cwanky. It will all be okay...". And then of course there are the nights that Sienna can be found sneaking into Devin's bed and then cuddled up next to him in the morning. All in all, it's enough to truly melt your heart.

Yes indeed, siblings are an interesting thing. I personally am ever so thankful for the relationships I have with my own two brothers and one of my hopes is that my children can experience that same closeness with each other in their lifetimes as well.

I do not, however, wish to see either of my children being "pried" off of the deck by the other...although something tells me that with these two, nothing is impossible.