brotherly love

My sister and her husband AJ are the parents of five boys. FIVE. And they are pretty darn cute. I tell my girls they are pretty lucky to have so many boy cousins. After all, there is so much to learn from boys. Especially for girls who don't have any brothers of their own to teach them the ropes. There is just so much to love about the rough and tumble, teasing, and "shrug it off"ness of boys. And as you can imagine, the S family has it's fair share of rough and tumble.

One thing I've always loved about the S boys is the way they need each other. Oh, I'm not saying it's all kisses and hugs. Like all siblings, I think they have the normal amount of squabbles. But I love to hear Jodi talk about the way they sleep. As long as I can remember, she has said that the boys always manage to find each other during the night. At bedtime, they fall asleep in their own beds, but when morning comes, they can always be found next to one of their brothers.
I have always thought this was such a sweet thing, and so I loved it when I awoke one morning while the boys were staying with us to find Kadin and Creighton cuddled up next to each other on the family room floor. You see, before I had gone to bed, Kadin was asleep on the couch and Creighton was sleeping on the floor at the other end of the family room. But here they were, where they felt most at home. Right next to each other.

Sure, these are normal boys. They tease, argue, and wrestle. But at the end of the day, they know where love is. They know who they can lean on. They know where they fit the best.

Right next to each other.
What a gift. I can't think of anything better.

(Hey S boys, thanks for the lesson in brotherly love.)