When I was pregnant with Emersen I imagined all the ways our lives would change being a family of four. I imagined all the ways Rod and I would love this second one as much as the first even if it seemed impossible to love anyone as much as Rhett. I imagined all the ways Rhett might be jealous and have to adjust to sharing our attention and love. When we decided to have another child I wanted them to be no more than 3 yrs. apart so they could go to school together and I imagined years from now what those school days would look like. One thing that I never thought about was the extent of love Rhett would have for his baby sister.
With the exception of the rare times Rhett wakes up from his nap grumpy wanting me to hold him (rare because he no longer takes naps not because he is never grumpy) he is all joy when it comes to his sister. In the morning after trying to drag me out of bed he runs in her room to see if she is awake. If she is in her crib crying he will put toys in there to try and cheer her up. Whenever I walk into the room with Emersen Rhett will stop whatever he is doing to greet her and show love to her. He honestly thinks she is the best thing since candy and ice cream and weeble wobbles. Now that she is mobile all over the house putting anything and everything in her mouth he is going into protective mode. Often I hear, "mom, Emmie is eating paper" or "mommy, Emmie is eating shoes." In the past few days he has decided his new job is to watch her and take away anything that would be dangerous for her. If Emersen is laughing or smiling or standing or sitting or crawling or eating or pooping or anything for that matter it's pure delight for Rhett.
Now that I've made him sound like a saint I must add a few other things. Along with all that love comes an aggressive 3 yr. old who thinks showing love means sitting on her, laying on top of her, pulling her arm back to see how far it will go and yes even licking her at times. I guess in all her greatness she tastes good too. I also forgot to mention that when Rhett is being protective and making sure she does not have anything dangerous this would include all of his toys and sometimes any item that she has traveled across the entire room to grab only to have Rhett take it away the second before she reaches it.
I"m the youngest in my family. I only have one sibling my older sister by 2 yrs. I have a terrible memory but I've heard many stories from my mom of how protective my sister was of me when we were young. Even as we grew older and I read her diary and drove her crazy in a dozen ways her love never relented. To this day she is one of my biggest supporters. I have to go pretty far to make her mad and do something pretty stupid for her not to approve. If you doubt me just read the comments in my previous posts.
Frankly I don't think I'm capable of loving my sister as much as she loves me. I love my sister dearly but her love is more raw. She loves deeply with a sense of joy and pride in being my older sister. I know this now after watching my son love his baby sister. What a cool thing to be an older sibling. I know they must have a hard time feeling responsible but what a gift to have so much love for another person like that. It seems like the youngest in families have a sense of entitlement. Maybe it's from receiving so much unconditional love from their older siblings. I know there's part of that in me. I'm sure there will be part of that in Emmie. It gives me peace to know Emmie will be ok because her big brother will watch after her. It also gives me peace to know Rhett will be ok because he will have love in his heart.
2 comments:
Seriously, this made me tear up. love you, Sissy.
Wow! This one was AMAZING! It is clear to see how much Rhett loves his sister. What and AWESOME picture!
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