Siblings

Siblings.

My children each have three siblings ~~~~makes sense since I am blessed with four children. If I had it my way, Id hope to be blessed with twice that many! Lol!! But it takes two to tango, and my tango partner thinks that four is a perfect number.

Emma Sage is our youngest. Having three older siblings has truly been a wonderful thing for her,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and I do believe her three older siblings think that having Emma Sage as their 'baby' is also an amazing and wonderful thing.

Her relationship with her oldest sibling, Katrina, is one that just makes me laugh and laugh,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,the two of them together are like 'Lucy & Ethel',,,,,,,,,,,,,always making the littlest things into jokes. They love each other dearly and Emma Sage gets much of her 'sophisticated' manners from modeling after her big sis. Katrina teachers her the latest lingo and Emma Sage has learned to be a kidder from her big sis.

When you think of Emma Sage and her relationship with her sister Greta, you think of two kindred souls,,,,,,,,,,,,born years apart, but it is like they have always known each other. Greta and Emma Sage have more of a mother/daughter, teacher/student, friend/friend relationship that just enhances their sisterhood. Greta works with Emma Sage in helping her learn, form words and complex sentences, to reading, to dance, to gymnastics, from cooking and cleaning to creating works of art. When Emma Sage is tired or hurt, more times than not, she will call for Greta to come help her before she calls from Mommy or Daddy.

A brother to love, and Otto is just the right boy for that job. Otto truly adores Emma Sage. She has such a unique relationship with Otto. They are the closest in age [5 years apart] so the only real sibling rivalry we have is brief moments when Emma Sage is just getting into Otto's stuff [or Otto is bugging Emma Sage and she has just had enough!]. The are the tough and tumble crew, and Otto really gets Emma Sage active and moving….running, jumping and playing games. True to the spirit of a boy, Otto and Emma Sage love to hunt and explore, build with blocks and such and he provides her with lots of learning on how things work. Otto is also very tender and caring with Emma Sage and I love to watch him reading her books or encouraging her on when she is trying to achieve a goal.

The topic of siblings came up recently on a Down syndrome discussion list and it got me thinking about the paradigm of our family.

I have been told by others that Emma Sage is 'doing so well' because she has siblings,,,,,,,,,,,,and I think that 'yes, she has truly benefited from having siblings in her life, but that is only a small facet of who she is,,,,,,,,,,but it is probably one of the most special and beautiful facets of her life',,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and I am thankful for each one of my children and I am so blessed that they have siblings,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,because siblings truly make a life journey more delightful, joyful, noisy, stimulating, and interesting.


Family faces are magic mirrors. Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present and future. ~ Gail Lumet Buckley