Today I was watching Jack and Ben play together and it reminded me of these pics from 5 years ago. This is Jack, arms open wide, the day we brought Ben home from the hospital. The first picture is one of my very favorites of him. That sweet expression, he had been waiting 7 weeks for the new baby brother to come home! He was just 2 months shy of turning 3 years old.
He has always been so sweet with Ben, even when Ben couldn't do all the things other "little brothers" were suppossed to do. In fact lately the favorite thing for them to do together is play the Wii. And even though I hear "BEN!!! Dont go that way you are making me die!!" quite a bit, they both love it. Ben will jump up and down and hug Jack as they beat a level. He also establishes early on in the day (in fact several times a day) that "Jack will play Wii after school and homework."
I think I need to rethink my vocabulary.
When I called it a "handicap" Scott said "what do you mean? Nothing is wrong with Ben he is GREAT!" When I thought Jack was "missing out" on playing and doing typical things with his brother, I saw him learning patience and empathy (and still having a great time.) There is no way to predict the relationship your kids will have and even though the last 5 years have been challenging, and my kids have sacraficed a lot, maybe that is why the relationship they have is so strong.
