Brotherhood

There is a phrase used often to describe the highest ideal of how we should treat our fellow human beings, “the brotherhood of man.” For me, it brings to mind the idea that we should look at every individual as belonging to our broader family. We should extend them the kindness and forgiveness that we would our own brother. 

Likewise, when I share these journal entries, I hope you’ll see them as one piece of my boys’ relationship. These moments are celebrated because they are the goal.  Certainly, not every moment was like this. I am sure you’re not shocked to know that my boys’ feelings for each other go beyond just love and harmony.

There were a lot of wonderful moments like this. There were also instances when we had all had just about enough of each other’s company-thank you very much.  There were times when Will needed to speak up and let us know that he needed more from us.  I also remember moments when we had to ask each of our children to step up and contribute more. 

Will and Mikey had disagreements and sparks of frustration. We don’t share those in the journal because we always chose to record a positive moment for the day.

All of this is to say that if your kids are having tough times and working through them, they are doing it right.  They are small humans, and they need to try hard to achieve the ideal of what a sibling relationship might look like. There will be bumps along the way.

No one is perfect, so just snap the pictures when all is well and use it as a reminder that your kids really do love each other and in the long run, all will be well.

Links

Here’s a link to a post about my boys’ relationship and what I hope for the future.

Here’s a link to an article by Will about his relationship with his little brother.