As some of you may know, I have a little brother who is much younger than me. Matty just turned 10 this past week. My parents wanted to attend a conference at their church, so Shaune and I snatched up the chance to be pretend parents for the weekend.
Matthew arrived with his bag of books and his stack of video games on Saturday morning at about 11 and we settled into a hilarious series of events: a video game tournament, trying to toss our own pizza crusts, dressing up like Liberians for church, a Monopoly tournament, reading aloud together all three of us snuggled up on the couch...
It's hard being so much older than he is. On one hand, he's my little bro who I love to play with and run around and be silly with. On the other hand, I've been caring for him since the day he was born -- I was 13. It's a strange battle between the anything-goes babysitter mindset and the "you really should eat your vegetables" mom thoughts. I strive for a balance -- DingDongs are an acceptable breakfast, but only if paired with a banana and a glass of milk!
He just left; Mom came and picked him up so he can go start his ISATs tomorrow morning. And once again, the house is quiet and peaceful, but a little less playful too. I'm so joyful that he came to be with us, and yet again my heart is praying beyond words that we'll have our own little man to hang out with soon. I love that boy more than I can put words to. It was a wonderful weekend.
1 comment:
It sounds lovely. We enjoy having my little brothers and sisters up periodically to spend a day or two. They love getting time with Maria, and I like having the opportunity to get to know them better as individuals, outside of the family group. My fourteen-year-old sister came up last week to spend two days and watch Maria briefly while I participated in a study. We went shopping, ate at McDonalds, cooked, and talked. It was such fun. It's great to have another girl to shop with, too, who understands the thrill of a clearance purse or the dilemma of which colour tights to choose. :) And I know what you mean about the balance between mom substitute/playmate mentalities. It can be a little weird at times.
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