Little Brother

Someone recently mentioned that Kyle was a great big brother. We laugh about it sometimes. Because he is really quite the younger (by 6 years) and littler (by 20 pounds) brother. But mentally....he is the older brother (by roughly 9 years). He fills both roles in this family. As does David.

 

Kyle is a great brother for David. He knows things that 9 year olds shouldn't know. Some heavy stuff and some not so heavy stuff. He is the one I holler at to go get me a bag if there is a surprise waiting for me at diaper changes. He is the one I have run to go grab me the syringe when I forget it at feeding times. He is the one I have to grab David's braces for me in the morning before putting his shoes on. He knows where extra extensions are. He knows where the gtube button pads are. I can easily direct him on getting me almost any medical supply because if he doesn't know where it is, he knows what it's called and what it looks like. He joined this world as a medical sibling. He doesn't know any different.

He is also a regular 9 year old boy. He likes to play. He can be rough. He loves video games. He loves to read. He loves to run. He really likes soccer. He likes being with his friends. He can be my sanity when I feel like it's missing.  He can be whiny. He can backtalk. He can take my sanity away as easily as he can give it back to me. He can be TYPICAL. Something I never knew until 9 years ago.

Sometimes I think he strives to just be average. He wants to blend in. He has a small group of really close friends, but is friendly with anyone who wants to play what he is playing. He is at that age when at home, we are so very, very normal for him. But I am starting to realize that when we're out of the house he is really sensitive to the fact that to someone else's eye we are anything but normal. I hope he realizes that we might not be the typical family in the eyes of others, but we are a family. One that has highs and lows just like every other family in this world. We are not immune to sadness or heartache. But no one is.

So to the Kyle of today: Be you. Be the little brother. Be the big brother. Be our child. Be a kid. Learn to be more amazing than you are.

To the Kyle of tomorrow: Be you. Be the little brother. Be the big brother. Still be our child. And you won't have to work to be amazing. You will be.