Thursday, February 14, 2013

Is it Love When....

holding her baby brother for the first time
Okay, on this day set aside to celebrate Love, I want to share a glimpse into the deepest love connection I have ever witnessed, that between my two children.  I'll admit that sometimes the love is hard to recognize but it is there with every irritating thing they do to drive each other crazy.

she was so proud the day she held him
upright for the first time!!
We all know that love is a feeling, a profound emotion that can make us do wacky things.  The feeling of love can also make our hearts race... and make other physical changes to our bodies.  We all know what the changes are when we experience THAT kind of love.  We have all heard stories about people being married for 60+ years who die within hours of each other.  It is beautiful!  The love I would like to explore is the unconditional love that is hard to attain outside of those special bonds.  My kids, although they will likely never admit it, have that special unconditional bond.
a rare moment of mutual enjoyment being
together!! 
But is it love when James sings a song or says a word over and over just to drive Charlotte crazy?  He knows it bothers her but he loves her so much that he does it just so she can see his amazing smile when he finally stops knowing that he got her!!  Is it love when Charlotte tells him she will not play Pokemon because she has homework only to surprise him an hour later to play a Wii game?  Love that is unexpected is far more precious than love that is demanded!
I would love to believe that I have had something to do with their amazing bond, but I really didn't.  They are as different as two people can be.  Their interests are vastly different.  They have very little to talk about that they are both genuinely interested in.  In fact, very little talking goes on to demonstrate their love for each other.  Even when they are furious with each other, the love is there. Even if they are at each other's throats all day long, they can always find something to break the spell.  It may be a song that moves both of them to sing (James the men's part and Charlotte the woman's.) We never know but they always go back to loving each other in that amazing sibling way.  On my website Well Worth the Journey >>click here<< I have written a pamphlet about being a sibling of a child with special needs >>click here<<.
I always hoped that my children would have a typical sibling relationship and my fondest dreams have come true.  They sometimes hate to love each other and sometimes love to hate each other but all is forgiven by morning!!