Sticking together . . .

Now that I am a mother of two I sometimes feel guilty for the times when I was a kid and I fought with my brother. As a mom I love both Grant and Sophia tremendously and can see amazing gifts and characteristics in each of them. I hope as they grow up they will see those positive traits in each other as well. I pray that throughout their lives they will support and take care of one another.

I got a glimpse this morning of the love that Sophia already has for her brother. I have written before about how much Sophia enjoys her brother and gets excited to see him each morning. Today she demonstrated that that love goes much deeper that just the fact that Grant is entertaining to his sister. I know, it sounds like I am going overboard, but read on . . .

This morning, like many mornings, Sophia and I put Grant on the bus and then left to run a few errands. We stopped at Walgreens where we happened to see a lady who goes to our church and her little boy, Tyler. Tyler is about Grant's age and although he is a little bigger, from a distance he looks a little like Grant. Sophia saw Tyler as we were paying for our things and yelled, "Grant, come back." I explained that the boy she saw was Tyler rather than Grant and that Grant was at school. I didn't give it another thought.

When we got to the van and I started buckling Sophia into her carseat, Sophia got a look of deep concern on her face. I asked her what was wrong. She pointed at the store and said, "Go get Grant." I said, "Sophia, do you think Grant is in the store?" Tears welled up in her eyes as she said "yes". I reminded Sophia that Grant was at school, but it was of no use. Sophia burst into tears and desperately begged me to go back into the store to get Grant. My poor baby was sure that her big brother was in Walgreens and that I was leaving him. It was really heartbreaking. No matter how hard I tried I could not convince Sophia that it was not Grant that she had seen in the store and that Grant was safe at school. Her cry was not her frustrated or angry cry, it was most definitely a terrified, heartbroken cry.

Sophia's response to thinking that we were leaving Grant behind was at once both heartbreaking and comforting. I am amazed that at 19 months she is perceptive enough to know that leaving Grant at a store by himself would not be a good thing. I am thrilled that she is developing a desire to watch out for and care for her brother. It was heartbreaking to know that in her mind I was leaving Grant and refusing to go inside and retrieve him when in reality every part of my being wants to protect my kids and to keep them close to me.

After trying unsuccessfully for quite some time to convince my terrified 19 month old that her beloved older brother was safe at school, I resorted to the distraction technique. We called Daddy on the phone and let Sophia talk to him for a couple minutes. It did the trick, at least for the most part. Daddy got Sophia laughing, so were able get going. As we drove home, Sophia was still a bit uneasy. It wasn't until we were driving onto campus (almost to the bus stop where we had last seen Grant this morning) that Sophia smiled and said, "Grant in class!" I said, "Yes, Sophia, Grant is in class." Sophia squealed as she finally understood that we had not in fact left Grant at Walgreens. She yelled, "Yeah! Grant in class!"

As a side, I wonder how often I am like Sophia and assume that God is screwing up and forgetting to watch out for a given situation when in reality everything is under control.