Today is World's Brothers Day. It is a day to celebrate having a brother and being thankful for all of the brothers in the world, for starters there is Chris and Liam Hemsworth or Benji and Joel Madden. Brotherly love is special and should be celebrated. I am thankful that I decided to be a Mother of 2 because I get to witness this every day.
Growing up, I had three siblings. My sister and I were sandwiched in age between our two brothers. They each have their special qualities and have been there and protected us (except for protection against themselves and their flying footballs) One thing they taught me from an early age was all about brotherly love and the special bond that is created.
That love and that bond between my brothers and my sister and I is what ensured me to not settle at having just one child. I knew before I even had any that I would want more than one, and although at times I have my hands more than full, it is a decision I will never regret. I wanted my eldest to always have a companion, someone to be there for him, when perhaps his Daddy and I couldn't. It wasn't about learning to share toys and food, it was about learning to share life with someone other than us. All of the good and the bad, I can't wait for them to share it all together, as they have already begun to. From crying when Mummy aka the bad guy takes something away to laughing at something silly like attacking each other's faces with stickers, sharing in this case really is caring.
From the minute my eldest laid eyes on his brother, he has been the best and the worst big brother.
Naturally the worst part of brotherly love comes from jealousy and being selfish. My youngest only gets a say in what we have on TV if his big brother is at pre-school or distracted by the iPad. The look of disappointment on his face when he asks his big brother if he can watch his 'Bing' DVD and he gets a firm "No" is heartbreaking. The littlest gets a second choice on other things too, such as what toys he can play with and what sweets I buy for them to share. The big brother is the leader but surprisingly not the bully.
My youngest stands his ground and puffs his chest in his own way; by being the vicious overly boisterous one. I always worried when I was pregnant that my eldest would hurt his baby brother. I was petrified to leave them alone, even if I just needed a quick wee. What I didn't anticipate is that the baby would be the bully. I have to console a crying my eldest on far too many occasions but, they both give as good as they get. Their fights can be scary and needs to be frequently broken up however, sometimes, I have to just let them be boys and brothers; true play fighting, rolling on the ground and chasing then tormenting each other brothers. The fights are important for bond building, just like all of the other games, like cars and hide and seek. Whenever I catch these beautiful brotherly moments and games, I quickly grab the hubby and stand there, beaming with pride and letting out a lot of "Awws".
I beam with pride because I am so filled with joy that Big Brother welcomed Little Brother so easily and became the best big brother. I catch LB crying over lost toys, or Daddy going to work. Before I can even go over to comfort him, his big brother is there, wiping away the tears and telling him that Daddy is at work and will be back soon. I've walked into the lounge, wipes in hand ready to clean LB up post yoghurt, to see BB stood there, carefully wiping his brother's hands and mouth.
BB has taught him how to play games, shown him the world of cartoons excitedly, snuggled him to sleep and egged him on to do naughty things and to be mischievous, giggling away. He laughs so much at his little brother. He says he loves him because "he's funny". And you can tell LB loves his big brother because he looks up to him so much and loves to copy him.
There was no jealousy. Not when it came to my attention anyway. The jealousy comes when I call LB my baby. According to BB, that's his baby not mine. Apparently, I am to look after BB and he is to look after LB. When he first told me this, I didn't worry about him trying to hold onto the baby spot. I beamed. I beamed because it has been true. Obviously LB is still my baby and I look after them both, but since the early days, BB has helped pass nappies, dummies, snuggled and loved his baby brother.
It is brotherly love. Unbeatable and beautiful. A love that I hope continues to bloom.
I know there will be fights, bickering, jealousy and squabbles but I also know how much more amazing incredible brotherly bonding moments there are to come. I know this from watching my own awesome brothers. I can't wait to watch them play football, Xbox and watch action films together. I had two babies (so far) and I had two so that they would always have each other. That they would always have a friend for life. A best friend. They can share it all together. I'm so excited to be a part of this. I am lucky that I have had two beautiful boys filled with such different yet equally amazing characters that love each other so much.
I am very lucky to witness the most fascinating, funny and fulfilling love everyday; brotherly love.
Are you a Mum of boys? What's your favourite part of brotherly love? Pop a comment below, I'd love to hear from you.
For more daily doses of parenting highs and lows, follow me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
Growing up, I had three siblings. My sister and I were sandwiched in age between our two brothers. They each have their special qualities and have been there and protected us (except for protection against themselves and their flying footballs) One thing they taught me from an early age was all about brotherly love and the special bond that is created.
That love and that bond between my brothers and my sister and I is what ensured me to not settle at having just one child. I knew before I even had any that I would want more than one, and although at times I have my hands more than full, it is a decision I will never regret. I wanted my eldest to always have a companion, someone to be there for him, when perhaps his Daddy and I couldn't. It wasn't about learning to share toys and food, it was about learning to share life with someone other than us. All of the good and the bad, I can't wait for them to share it all together, as they have already begun to. From crying when Mummy aka the bad guy takes something away to laughing at something silly like attacking each other's faces with stickers, sharing in this case really is caring.
From the minute my eldest laid eyes on his brother, he has been the best and the worst big brother.
Naturally the worst part of brotherly love comes from jealousy and being selfish. My youngest only gets a say in what we have on TV if his big brother is at pre-school or distracted by the iPad. The look of disappointment on his face when he asks his big brother if he can watch his 'Bing' DVD and he gets a firm "No" is heartbreaking. The littlest gets a second choice on other things too, such as what toys he can play with and what sweets I buy for them to share. The big brother is the leader but surprisingly not the bully.
My youngest stands his ground and puffs his chest in his own way; by being the vicious overly boisterous one. I always worried when I was pregnant that my eldest would hurt his baby brother. I was petrified to leave them alone, even if I just needed a quick wee. What I didn't anticipate is that the baby would be the bully. I have to console a crying my eldest on far too many occasions but, they both give as good as they get. Their fights can be scary and needs to be frequently broken up however, sometimes, I have to just let them be boys and brothers; true play fighting, rolling on the ground and chasing then tormenting each other brothers. The fights are important for bond building, just like all of the other games, like cars and hide and seek. Whenever I catch these beautiful brotherly moments and games, I quickly grab the hubby and stand there, beaming with pride and letting out a lot of "Awws".
I beam with pride because I am so filled with joy that Big Brother welcomed Little Brother so easily and became the best big brother. I catch LB crying over lost toys, or Daddy going to work. Before I can even go over to comfort him, his big brother is there, wiping away the tears and telling him that Daddy is at work and will be back soon. I've walked into the lounge, wipes in hand ready to clean LB up post yoghurt, to see BB stood there, carefully wiping his brother's hands and mouth.
BB has taught him how to play games, shown him the world of cartoons excitedly, snuggled him to sleep and egged him on to do naughty things and to be mischievous, giggling away. He laughs so much at his little brother. He says he loves him because "he's funny". And you can tell LB loves his big brother because he looks up to him so much and loves to copy him.
There was no jealousy. Not when it came to my attention anyway. The jealousy comes when I call LB my baby. According to BB, that's his baby not mine. Apparently, I am to look after BB and he is to look after LB. When he first told me this, I didn't worry about him trying to hold onto the baby spot. I beamed. I beamed because it has been true. Obviously LB is still my baby and I look after them both, but since the early days, BB has helped pass nappies, dummies, snuggled and loved his baby brother.
It is brotherly love. Unbeatable and beautiful. A love that I hope continues to bloom.
I know there will be fights, bickering, jealousy and squabbles but I also know how much more amazing incredible brotherly bonding moments there are to come. I know this from watching my own awesome brothers. I can't wait to watch them play football, Xbox and watch action films together. I had two babies (so far) and I had two so that they would always have each other. That they would always have a friend for life. A best friend. They can share it all together. I'm so excited to be a part of this. I am lucky that I have had two beautiful boys filled with such different yet equally amazing characters that love each other so much.
I am very lucky to witness the most fascinating, funny and fulfilling love everyday; brotherly love.
Are you a Mum of boys? What's your favourite part of brotherly love? Pop a comment below, I'd love to hear from you.
For more daily doses of parenting highs and lows, follow me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.