The Sibling Bond

It’s funny how my kids love each other so much, then hate each other, then love each other all in a matter of moments. I often say that so much of my parenting time is spent breaking up fights, or facilitating arrangements between the two of them. But oh, there is so much love between them.

He loves his sister’s sense of humour and adventure and worries about her. When someone has caused her sadness at school, he’s the one insisting that I go to the principal to right the injustice, no matter how small it may be, because to him, there is no small injustice when it comes to his sister.

She loves that she can laugh with him and play fantastical games with her big brother. She encourages him to try new things and tells him just how much she loves him.

And then there are the days when they have had too much time together. When they poke the bear (take your pick of which one is being the bear) and when they just can’t bring themselves to walk away and have to be the one to say the last word.

Those moments are then greatly countered by there ventures into the bigger world. When we travel, it’s them against the world. When they are at a new place, they look out for each other. Suddenly, the morning’s bickering melts away and they are left with the same goofy antics that they love to do together. They are left speaking their own sibling language, one that specifically excludes their parents because ultimately, we are their true enemy when the time calls for it and they can put aside their differences to team up.

This sibling dynamic isn’t new to me – I am one of four kids. But watching it play out, with two different kids, of two different ages and genders, has been the most frustrating and fascinating element of my parenting career so far.

At the end of the day, it’s impossible not to see how much love they have for each other. And it’s in those moments that my heart swells and that I know they can take on the world, together.