I feel like it’s been forever since I’ve sat down and actually done a real writing piece but alas, my schedule with my new part-time job and the prep for our big Easter drama has allowed me little time to clean the bathroom, let alone pen any semi-scintillating blog posts.
And so today I will regale you not with words, but with a few more pictures of our unexpected meet up with that grand son of mine and the grandchildren he and his grand wife have so thoughtfully provided Steve and me with.
Nathan and Sarah: the Smith Sibling Wranglers of the Smith Siblings.
I could not believe how attached Madi was to Sarah! She took one look at me, took one look at Steve and then made a beeline for Sarah, where she stayed for most of our visit. But who can blame her? I like hanging out with Sarah, too!
I love this “wise woman of the world” look, like she is about to say, “Let me just tell you a thing or two, Grandma.”
And off she goes. The unintelligible pontifications.
Playing sword fighting with Aunt Sarah.
I must show you Noah’s sophisticated big boy hair. Is that not a hoot?
A few playground pictures.
The Smith Dads. Nathan and Steve have always been close and are growing even closer over all the home improvement jobs that Nathan is doing at his recently purchased first home. He calls Steve for advice and then sends pictures of the finished products. Steve is having a very large time, doing long distance home improvements with his son.
Of course, I like Nathan just a little, too.
We didn’t end up with a great selfie . . .
but we had fun in the process.
And at the end of the visit? Madi was still attached to Sarah. Love those ladies.
What about you? Do you have siblings? How many?
Were you close growing up and are you close now?
I love stories of brothers and sisters.
Tried to comment on this right after you posted it but it kept locking up. I have one sister who is three years younger. We only live a few miles from each other. She has three kids and four grandchildren. Our husbands just returned from their annual trout fishing trip that has been an annual tradition for over 20 years!
LOVE the photo of Madison perched in the circular thing!
Kari,
I love that the brothers-in-law have had their tradition for twenty years. Seems like there aren’t as many traditions formed in families as there used to be and that one is a great one!
Love the photos! Madi with Sarah is just precious. Noah is really growing up, looking like a proper little boy now. Madi, like my granddaughter, is pokey in the hair department lol. I try to imagine what she will look like with hair but can’t do it yet 🙂
I am the oldest sibling of three. I was bossy. I didn’t like to share. I always told my younger sister what to do. It drove me crazy when she copied me. She and I were not ‘close’ growing up even though we were only 2 years apart. I remember my mom telling me once that although I loved my sister, I didn’t have to LIKE her. Interestingly, that took the pressure off and I began to see her in a more kindly light. I remember the day she said to me, “I don’t have to do what you say!” She was absolutely right. We never fought per se, we just circled in different orbits, while living in the same house. Anyway, we went off to college, went our seprate ways. Once we both had children, everything changed. We became very close, she had lots of questions on child rearing and eventually she moved her family to be close to me. She is my best friend, I lost the bossy older sister ways long ago. It’s even steven. We would be lost without each other, even though I have moved very far away recently.
Then there’s my little brother. He’s 5 years younger. I was always crazy about him. Taught him, spent a lot of time with him, enjoyed him in every way. We were always close and remain so to this day. He never married or had children, my children have a special affinity for their uncle. They love him to bits. He is wonderful with them, including Sarah. He is a very unique, sensitive person, unusual in many ways, a bit of a recluse but not quite. I think anxiety has impacted his life and because of that he must pull inward and refuel before venturing back out into the wordly chaos. He’s a hard worker and can make us laugh like no other. I live far from him now too, but the phone keeps us close. He called the other day and I answered the phone with “Hello baby brother!” He commented on that and said it made him feel good. Our mom died many years ago and sometimes I think he needs to feel taken care of.
Nothing better than my siblings. I am very lucky.
Lesley,
I loved your sibling stories!
Isn’t it interesting how our sibling relationshps change so much between childhood and adulthood? I’m so happy to know that you and your sister eventually ended up as best friends, even though she wasn’t always your favorite person in childhood. Sounds like when you both had children of your own, the sisterly bond grew much stronger and much sweeter.
And I so loved your description of your brother as you combined words like eccentric, reclusive, prone-to-anxiety right along with funny, hard working, and beloved by you and your children. It’s all of those many unique qualities that combine to create the people we love.
You are blessed!
I have two brothers, one almost three years older and the other a little over eight years younger. Both live in Missouri – 95-115 miles away from me. Older brother has one daughter, 17 and younger brother has one son, just one day older than Sarah, and a daughter who will be 18 a week from today and graduate in about 6 weeks. She is my musically gifted niece – piano, violin, handbell and voice. Being 8 years younger, my younger brothe and I weren’t all that close as kids. I did babysit him a lot. Now we are much closer than my older brother and I because we have more in common – both of us have masters degrees – his in teaching and mine in finance. Older brother barely made it through high school and still lives in the same small town we grew up in whereas both my younger brother and I both moved away.
Phyllis,
Isn’t it amazing how relationships morph and change through the years and that the sibling you weren’t as close to when you were youger is now the one you ARE closest to? No one can ever predict what the years will bring in terms of relationships growing and evolving. I know you are grateful for those two brothers of yours (as different as they both are) and the wonderful nieces and nephew they gave you.
Oooh! Oooh! Pick me, pick me! I have siblings! 6 as a matter of fact, of which you are one! I get to be your sibling–yay! AND I get to be the much YOUNGER one. Ha. I love all my sibs to bits–don’t get to see any of them enough though. sigh.
Great pics of the Smith kids and grands.
Love, Deb
Deb,
Well, I must say it is nice to hear from a real live sibling on my sibling post!
And yes, you are SO very much younger than me–five whole years. I guess that means I could still boss you around a little if I felt like it. 🙂 Love you!
Pictures are terrific. Noah is growing so much. I have one sister and two brothers. My sister and I are closer now than growing up. She is almost 4 years younger and a great nurse about 45 years. Closer to my brother here than one in FL because I do not see him much. He is coming home Mother’s Day for the first time since Mama passed away three years ago. I have been to see him once. Used to be very close but distance has changed that. Our Easter outdoor drama is next weekend. Happy weekend to you and Steve. We are at Durham VA for Jim’s appointment.
Ann,
Wow! Forty-five years is a long time to be a nurse. I can only imagine how many stories your sister must have from those years.
So glad your brother is coming for a visit on Mother’s Day; I know it will be special to see him, especially on the day you are remembeing your beloved mom.
I hope Jim’s appointment went well!
Great pics of the brief get-together in lieu of words!! Love the bond they have! Being an only child, sometimes I long for the bond that siblings have and sometimes worry if my son misses that bond. But then like he has said “Then you would have had to share me with other kids”!! Both of us have OCS – Only Child Syndrome!!
Donna,
I love that you and your son are happy with your OCS.
His line about having to share him with other kids made me smile. 🙂
Oh those kids are just so darned cute! I LOVE Noah’s hair! He is so, so handsome and Miss Madi is a little dolly. Those eyes! There is no doubt that they are brother and sister. 🙂
I have one brother and we are 18 months apart in age. He’s the oldest and will be 60 in August! We have always been close and mom said that he was always very protective of me from the minute they brought me home from the hospital. He still is too. When we would play as kids, he always did the ‘work’, like pulling the sled with me on it. (Around the yard in deep snow which was very hard work.) I remember one time when we were riding our bikes and I crashed about 4 blocks from home. I was about 6 or so. He pushed his bike and mine all the way home up the big hill because I was all scraped up from the fall. He felt terrible for me and cried right along with me. Such a sweet guy. Then AND now. Love him!!
LeeAnne,
There is one line in your comment that says it all. “He cried right along with me.”
Now THAT is a great sibling!
What great pics of the kiddos! Are Madi’s eyes green? They’re beautiful! And Noah’s hair is awesome!
I’m an only. My mom was an only. My daughter is an only. So – no sibling experiences for any of us. Luckily, though, a group of “onlies” in my hometown sort of gravitated together to be choice-siblings. We are all still very close, even though none of us live there anymore. Thankful for Facebook, which has allowed our longtime relationship with each other to continue–we live in Missouri, Minnesota, Arkansas, Tennessee, and California now.
T is in Minnesota and he’s a surveyor. He has two gorgeous tweenaged boys.
M, B, T, and G are in Arkansas. M is a software engineer with one adult son, B is a professional photographer (no kids), T is a transportation manager (no kids), and G owns a pet-sitting business (no kids).
A, V, J, and T are in Tennessee. A is an elementary school teacher (with a PhD – none of us saw THAT coming!) with no kids, V is a personal trainer (no kids), J is a municipal code enforcement officer and an EMT, and T is a preschool teacher who also drives a school bus. J and T are married to each other and have three kids and three grandkids.
T is in California and is a border patrol officer. He has two adult sons and one young daughter.
B and I are in Missouri. B is a professional blogger and call center manager (three adult daughters), and I am in professional services marketing.
We’d go to the ends of the earth for each other.
And also: you now have TWO new part-time jobs???
Stefanie,
I am actually not sure what color Madi’s eyes are. A good question for this grandma to find out!
Reading over the list of your friends and their career choices, I couldn’t help but be struck by how interesting and enriching it must be to be a part of all of those lives and how you must learn so much from each other and what they all bring to the Choice-Siblings Table.
You are very blessed to have that many close relationships in your life especially when, as you said, you would go to the ends of the earth for each other. I am just slightly jealous!
I need to go back in and edit the part- time job line in my post. My job at the church is part-time (25-30 hours) and my new job at the preschool is part-time (6-8 hours) So the preschool job is still new enough that I call it my new part-time job and “second” refers to the addition to my church job. If that makes any sense at all. 🙂 Two jobs is all I can handle!