Sharing

Madelyn just walked into the kitchen and announced, "Cracker, Please!" So, I gave my smiling girl a peanut butter cracker and she walked to the living room with it. Within moments, she reappeared, hand outstretched and again announced, "Cracker, Please!" Thinking she was storing them somewhere under the sofa cushions, I followed her as she toddled into the living room with her second cracker and sat down next to her brother who was quietly nibbling the peanut butter cracker that Madelyn must have given to him.

They've been getting along swimmingly these days, and Jameson is growing to be the protective older brother that Bob has always hoped for. In and of itself, this is a wonderful thing, but it's wearing on me a bit that I have to constantly remind him that Madelyn is her own person and gets to do what she wants to do (mostly.)

He screams and drags her back into the house when she goes out on the deck, screaming "I don't want my baby to fall down the stairs!" He pulls her away from strangers who stop to talk to her when we're out, yelling "This MY BABY!" He constantly reminds me not to forget her when we're leaving the house (which he's been doing since he was 19 months old.) He won't let her near the water at the beach. He goes after other kids at play group when he's afraid she's being picked on. Every once in a while, he makes me put all the windows up in the car because he's concerned that something she's holding will blow away (which I think stemmed from a balloon incident a few months back, but no matter how many times we explain the physics and chemistry behind a helium balloon blowing away, he's still very concerned!)

But with the bad comes the good. He shares his drink with her when she says she's thirsty. He tells her "it's okay, we're almost there" when she cries in the car. He translates for her when I can't understand what she's saying. He asks her, "Are you sad, baby? Do you want me?" when she's hurt. He reads her books and plays tea party and dolls and dress up with her. He tells her she's pretty when I finish putting in her pig tails or getting her dressed. He listens for her to wake up in the morning and yells "I'm coming, baby! " as he runs up the stairs toward her room to save her.

He has somehow burdened himself with Madelyn's well being and feels totally responsible for her happiness. While I hope that he loosens up a bit, (preferably before he gives himself an ulcer) I'm thrilled that they love each other so much. I can only hope that the special bond they share will remain intact into their adulthood as it has with my brother and sister. What a happy family!