Siblings

We all know the conversation... 

You're standing in a supermarket/restaurant/etc and a stranger, upon looking at your little ones says

"Wow. You must stay busy!" 

(my friends who have 4 or more children, please try not to laugh too hard) 

Upon a further conversation with a waitress, who made said comment, last night; the realization that she assumed that having siblings close in age must be absurdly difficult. 

I assumed this when I didn't have children, as well. 

Let me, first, in the spirit of full disclosure, state that my son isn't prone to jealousy. It doesn't seem to be a sin he battles with. It's somewhat surprising since he likes to control his environment so I expected him to find a demanding baby in our home to be a violation of his comfort zone. Instead, he rose to the challenge and treated Gabby like his little project. 

He still enjoys teaching and helping her. 

I, then, must clear something up (for those who may not already know). While, Siblings do fight, it's part of how they learn conflict resolution, they are a major support system for each other. They enjoy each other. 

My kids love to read books together, and play games. They sing and dance together and when they are forced into separation (ie awanas), they miss each other the entire time their apart.   

I actually believe it would be more difficult to have one child as apposed to two, because, as they get older, and want/need companions to play with, it's much easier to have a sibling or two to spend their days with. 

Moral of the story. Next time you see a mom sporting a couple kids that look very close in age, don't tell her that you assume her life must suck, because it doesn't. 

It's great!