Bonds

Here Amelia, eat this. She looks at him suspiciously, then looks at what is in his hand. Two small rounds of bread with chocolate chips in between. A chocolate chip sandwich!

Reminds me of the concotions I would make for my little brother. Except mine weren't nearly as delicious (or edible). 

Mine consisted of prune juice, sugar, water, chocolate syrup, sprite, salt, pepper and anything else we could find in the cupboard. And he would drink it. Every bit. And love it.

Want to play Beauty Shop? I will let you do my hair and make up this time, I promise. I doll him up to look like the little sister I always wanted. When it is his turn to make me beautiful, I look at him, laugh and run outside. I jump in the pool before he has a chance to get me.

My little brother. I wasn't very nice to him. In fact quite often I was down right mean. That is what I knew though. 

My brothers and sister weren't nice to me, so I thought that was how a younger sibling was supposed to be treated.

He was so patient with me. Never hit me back, rarely yelled back. The angriest he got was when he stuck a pencil in my butt cheek in Jr. High (I still have a blue mark on my bum!).

This little boy, who eventually became one of my favorite people. He can make me laugh harder than anyone else. 

He is gentle and kind and hilarious. He is perpetually late and a bit of a flake, but I love him. My boy.

I think of my little brother and I pray my children can have relationships with each other like I have with him.

Typically when my kids want to experiment in the kitchen I say no. I don't want to waste ingredients and I don't want a mess to clean up. But they are making memories. They are building bonds and that is something I don't want to interrupt.