#SibsForLife!

This summer, while we were on vacation, we were celebrating our middle son's 15th birthday.  We were sitting around the dinner table, and everyone was laughing. 

However, my husband and I had no idea what was going on.

Yep - the kids were all laughing about their shared childhood memories.  Moments, events, experiences, toys, movies. . .memories my husband and I weren't directly involved in.  At one point, while they reminisced about some crazy video they had watched in their younger years, I looked over at my husband and gave him the "who knows" gesture, with a wide smile and laughter.

I had virtually no memory of what they were talking about, and I was loving every moment of the scene.

True, dear old dad and I were out of the loop, but that didn't matter.  What was so beautiful to me was their shared bond.  Independently of their parents, their shared experiences of living in our crazy house brought them joy.  The things they remember fondly brings me such happiness. 

When we are old and gray (which is actually today, I'm sorry to report), our kids will have each other.  No one else but their siblings will quite understand their unique childhood experience.  They will have each for support, for laughter, for family.  More times than I can count, I have reminded my children that their siblings will be the longest relationships they will ever have.  No one will know them as long and as well as their siblings do.  And that's a beautiful gift.

Earlier today, I thought of a phrase as I was doing the dishes and it reminded me of a quote from a movie my sister and I adored when we were teenagers.  I stopped what I was doing, grabbed my phone, and texted the quote to her.  A bit later, she responded with another quote from the same movie, and we went back and forth, entertaining ourselves with our shared memories.  I was laughing with each text that came back, and it was great.  Outside of my parents, my sister has known me longer than anyone else, and there's great comfort and peace in that. 

Brother and sisters!  What a blessing they are.