This Was For Them

This visit was more about the kids’ interaction with one another than it was about my one-on-one with the Munchkin. I knew that going into it. More so than any previous visit, the kids would be of ages where they could all interact with one another with less parental involvement. The last time we were together out there, my youngest needed my presence to help him keep up with the big kids. The last time they all came out here, he still needed a little supervision. This time, he was one of the big kids.

Watching them all interact was fantastic. And loud. Really loud.

The first day, everyone got along splendidly. I mean, my two sons didn’t argue with one another. Munchkin and JD didn’t argue with one another. And the various combinations didn’t argue either. Dee and I were amazed that the immediate siblings weren’t even arguing. The novelty of the others’ presence was a perfect antidote to the normal arguing problem.

The next day brought about one or two minor issues. After a day of hard playing and lots of swimming, they got on one anothers’ nerves in the pool right before it was time to get out for dinner. Minor. Easily distracted. We saw some personality issues arise, which I’ll discuss later, but nothing major.

The third (and final) day brought out the true colors. My oldest son and Munchkin got into a few times that morning. And not just one annoying the other; they both had their go at it. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. The novelty had worn off. They were tired of each other. They were tired of being out of their own routine. They needed some space.

But when it was time to go, BigBrother was heart broken. Like, seriously. He cried for awhile after we left. He told me that he didn’t want to go home. He wanted to live there. When I told him that we live in Ohio with daddy, he gave me the old standby “I don’t care” answer. I didn’t yell or chastise him. I let him cry it out and gave him some Toy Story Cheez-its (!). He eventually fell asleep shortly after we got on the turnpike whereupon I was alone with my thoughts.

I am so glad that my boys had this visit. Even though we have pictures of the Munchkin in our house and we talk about her regularly and we generally keep her in our lives, I worry that she is just a theory or idea. Watching them interact was a salve to my soul. My youngest son was regularly in awe of her, having had less time in his shorter life to be with her. It was good for us all.

I got many, many group pictures since that’s what I do, a camera forever stuck to my face. I like this one taken just before we left. I like it because my youngest son was refusing to look. So, the Munchkin moved his head toward the camera with her hand. That’s an older sister for you, no?

More tomorrow on my own experience and emotions.