My shadow, my bodyguard, my bestfriend

Until I was eight I was an only child.

I never wanted to be.

I wanted at least one sibling, and when my brother was born I was overjoyed. Aside from when he was about six and began trashing my bedroom daily for about six months, I have always been grateful for my brother.

All of my friends had siblings well before me. I was the last. I was the odd one out. It felt good to finally have this other little person in my life, someone to share life with.

There are lots of children who live very happy lives without a sibling for whatever reason. I am just glad that wan’t me.

I never imagined that I would have just one child. When I did think about children it was often the interaction between children that I thought about.

Having children has brought with it daily joy and amusement. Watching the children interact has been quite magical. Sometimes I wish I could just secretly film their relationships because they are truly something special.

My brother and I used to talk in a secret language that only we could understand and my children have started to do the same. I love it – I wish I could bottle it and remember these moments forever.

Of course, all the children have their moments,Β and I am sure that as the years pass by they will no doubt have moments of wishing that they were the only one.

I will never apologise to any of the children for their siblings though because I have seen the power of their love for each other.

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The shadow

The younger children are the shadows of the older children. The big kids became superheros overnight when the little ones arrived. They gained celebrity status and they are worshiped. When they are not around to follow and to copy and to adore, the little ones have to navigate their way through the day rather differently.

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The bodyguard

One thing I have complete confidence in, is the ability of each of the children to protect the other above everything else. I have seen this in action in a range of situations and this is not just from oldest to youngest. The superglue like bond that the children have means that each child will protect the other and step in if required.

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The best friend

The bottom line is that the children are the best of friends. Best friends don’t always see eye to eye, they know which buttons to push and they will sometimes push them, they know each others’ strengths and weaknesses, but ultimately they thoroughly enjoy each other’s company, they trust each other and if the worst happened they would be the first in line to help.

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The strength of the sibling bond I see every day makes me immensely proud and I hope that these four will continue to feel the intense connection that they clearly do today.

Linking up with Ordinary Moments.

The Twinkle Diaries

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31 comments

  1. Aww, it must be so lovely to see such strong bonds between your children. I’ve only got the one little boy at the moment but I’d love to give him a sibling one day. It sounds like I’ve got so much to look forward too πŸ™‚ #OrdinaryMoments

  2. Aw what a gorgeous gorgeous post and I agree, even though my sister is ten years behind me, we are still exceptionally close. And how lovely that your children are so close too, they sound like they all have a great bond. xx

  3. Don’t you love seeing your children bond and care for each other!

    What a great post! I came over on Twinkly Tuesday, and I’m glad to find your post. Love your message and all of the pictures. It sounds like your children are learning to deeply care for each other. You must be a wonderful mom!

    Mine are now in college, and I love watching them help and support each other. They’ve gotten to be closer each year that they’ve aged. It’s a sweet thing to see as a parent.

    Hope you have a blessed day~
    Melanie

  4. This gave me goosebumps. All the hairs stood up on my arms as I was reading β€” just lovely. I was an olnly child until I was 10 and I’m SO happy my sister finally showed up to the party and gave me a sibling of my own. I love our relationship β€” she’s one of my best friends β€” and I am SO, SO happy that my boys have each other. And have had, right from the start. Lovely. Thanks so much for linking up with #TwinklyTuesday β€” hope to see you again next week! x

    Caro | http://www.thetwinklediaries.co.uk

    1. Ah really? That’s not been the hardest phase for me – it’s really interesting what people find to be the trickiest. Thanks for reading πŸ™‚

  5. What a lovely, lovely post hon. These are the reasons I want to have a number 2, despite the nightmare we had with no. 1! x #TheList

  6. Lovely post. I was an only child and was so thankful when my second daughter came along four years after the first. I have watched that bond grow and it’s made more fascinating to me having never experienced it myself.

  7. I, too, was an only child for too long (10.5 years). My daughters have been together since the womb. The sibling relationship is underappreciated, I think. Thanks for recognizing it! #TwinklyTuesday

  8. I can’t imagine life without my siblings (even with all the drama!) and although I only have child at the moment, I can’t wait for his future siblings and see the kind of relationship he’ll have with them, just as you’ve described with your children! #TwinklyTuesday

  9. What a beautifully written post. I say the same all the time. I have a huge family and each one of my siblings is someone special to me. I love watching my two now have the same bond and hopefully one day have another sibling in the mix to join in the bonding and it’s great to have that one that knows what goes on outside the house and inside and there forever. Thank you for linking up to Share With Me #sharewithme

  10. Such a lovely post! can totally relate given I have a brother and also a sister close in age. Would definitely want my 28 month old son to have one or more siblings in future to experience such a beautiful sibling bond:-) #TwinklyTuesday

  11. What a lovely post. My daughter has step siblings at her Dad’s and a step brother from my husband but I’m about to have a baby which will be her first younger sibling that she’s fully living with. I’m excited and a little anxious because it’s an almost 8 year age gap but your post gives me hope! #sharewithme

  12. OH I love this sweets. MY siblings and I some of us are 12, 10, 9 years apart and we are still all soooo close. I love having that bond with them as much as I do siblings that are close in age to me. Thank you ever so much for linking up to SWM and the amazing linky/blog support last year. It means the world to me that people come back again and again to share their amazing blogs. I hope this year is no different. It’s great to get to know more blogs and I love reading each post every week and sharing them. You have such a great blog here. I wish you a happy new year!!! #sharewithme

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