Sometimes this Happens – Part 1

One day, my Hubby showed me this picture…

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It shows Autumn Joy (6 years old) and Alexis, aka Lexy (3 years old), sleeping with their arms wrapped around each other.

I was certain the picture was staged.  So I asked Hubby, “Is this for real, or did they pose?”  “It’s for real,” he shot back.

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I was touched to my core and my heart melted.

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You’d have to know the relationship that exists between Autumn Joy and Alexis (Lexy) to really appreciate the photo above.

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But first, let’s back up for a moment…

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My three teens (Jonathan, 16; Josiah, 15; and Angel, 13) have always been three peas in a pod.

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They have always gotten along very well and have never spent much time rivaling or fighting with each other.

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Sure, they’ve had (and continue to have) their moments, and Jon and Siah have tried to “throw blows” once or twice (years ago), but this was a rare occurrence, and when it happened, their actions were met with swift and stern disapproval and discipline from their father and I.

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I used to hear other parents say all the time that their kids fight and squabble endlessly.  I used to observe it as well; but because of my reality, I heard what they were saying but I never really felt their pain.

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Well, I’m in a lot of pain now. With Autumn and Lexy, I’ve got sibling rivalry in spades!

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They squabble about anything and everything: their toys; their clothes; space taken up on the couch; or simply the fact that the other person is breathing air.  What gives?

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It’s enough to make a grown person cry!  And it does make me cry…

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And scream!

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And shout!

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And rip out my hair,

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Pluck out my beard,

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Tear my clothes,

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Lay in sackcloth,

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And rub ashes on my forehead.

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(Okay, I’ve e gone too far, but you get the point.)

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Why it’s happening now, and did not happen with my three teens?  I don’t know.  All I can say it that’s it’s happening, and all I can do is to “weather the storm,” intervene with love, (painfully respond with some of the actions cited above) and pray it out.

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So, when I see a picture of the two of them sleeping with their arms wrapped around each other, it does my heart good.  A world of good.

It helps me refocus, exhale and know that all is not lost.

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Then I get up and go glue the hair back into my scalp.–

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From the Scriptures

“A friend loves at all times, and a brother (or sister) is born for adversity.” ~Proverbs 17:17  (Words in parentheses added by Tiffiney.)

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Quotes to live by:

Sibling relationships…outlast marriages, survive the death of parents, and resurface after quarrels that would sink any friendship. They flourish in a thousand incarnations of closeness and distance, warmth, loyalty and distrust. ~Erica E. Goode, The Secret World of Siblings

Our brothers and sisters are there with us from the dawn of our personal stories to the inevitable dusk. ~Susan Scarf Merrell

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