They Can Walk Straight to First Period Together.
When Dylan was a baby, I had serious concerns about having another child.
“The first three years of a child’s life are developmentally the most important!” I shrieked at Bill. “I am not even trying to have another baby until Dylan has completed those three years!” And then, like any good, first-time mom, I hovered over Dylan for every moment of the entire three years, making sure he was developing properly.
Then we had Shane.
It never occurred to me that I would be too busy to spend every waking moment with Shane – or that I would even want to hover over him, too. I was so worried about Dylan for three years, I’d never considered that I would also want to be available for my next child.
Fortunately, Shane did fine without my constant hovering. Some might say he did better without experiencing my original parenting style.
And I was able to watch the sibling relationship blossom from Day 1. We had, of course, adequately prepared Dylan by watching Three Bears and a New Baby at least a hundred times. And Shane was an incredibly easy baby to love.
Fortunately, Dylan and Shane really like each other. They enjoy spending time together. They have things in common. They like to go places together, and they always make each other laugh.
Unfortunately, I waited three years for Shane to be born. As a result, Shane and Dylan have barely had any time together at school.
They did have a couple of years together in elementary school which, I think, they both enjoyed. But this year marks the first time that the two of them – both now high schoolers – are able to have a class together.
So last spring, they studied the schedule. Shane has a gazillion requirements to tackle before graduation. Dylan, meanwhile, could practically skip his entire year.
They decided to take something fun together. The class they chose is called Radio Production. It turns out that they will be lumped together with the TV Production and the Theater class to both create the morning announcements and do drama-related activities.
Given that Dylan and Shane have both been “acting” since they were preschoolers, the theater possibilities excite them. And they have both previously worked on morning announcements at school – and loved it.
The class is first period. I will drive them to school, or they can take the bus – or gosh, Dylan can drive Shane – and they can walk straight to first period together. There’s no guarantee that they will see each other for the rest of the day, but they will have that time in the morning to get acclimated and hang out a little.
Best of all, each boy will have a friend – an instant, constant friend – to quietly support him as he strolls into that mysterious, loud, all-consuming, high-ceilinged building.
Each boy will have a true brother, right there at his side.
I wish I had thought of that when I was so concerned about Dylan’s first three years of development. I wish I would have realized how deeply I would care for them, for their feelings and their deepest desires. I wish I would have known then that those first three years matter, but not as much as having a beloved sibling nearby.
I had to learn that the hard way – but at least, this year, they have each other.