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Brotherly Love

Love hurts, love scars

Around here, love doesn’t always look the way I’d like it to look. Boys sometimes have a funny way of showing they care.

Of course my boys can be very sweet with me—they are always quick to give me a kiss (on the lips even!), to tell me they love me. I get fresh-picked flowers (from the neighbors yard) and if I’m feeling sad, at least one of the boys will ask if I’m okay.

Boys can certainly be tender.

But with each other—not so much. I’m finding that when it comes to brotherly love, the manifestations are often strange and curious.

There’s the age-old wrestling, wildly popular in our home. When the boys are feeling happy and excited, I can tell because they are wound up in a giant ball of frenzy in the front room. There are high-fives, the guy equivalent to a hug—and remind me to tell you about how I’ve been finding myself giving high-fives when I’m excited lately. The boys are totally rubbing off on me. There are slaps on the bum and noogies and ninja kicks.

And then there are the words of encouragment.

In my female world, we say things like “You are amazing,” and “I know you can do it!” For guys, it’s a bit different.

Yesterday morning, Ethan was an altar server. Because he has to arrive fifteen minutes before Mass begins, we dropped him off at the back door of the church to get ready. As he was getting out, Charlie called out to his brother as he left.

“Go get ‘em tiger.”

In other words: You are amazing. I know you can do it!


Comments

 
1. Posted by Maura on Monday, Jul 21, 2008 11:08 AM (EDT):

Hah!  My father used to write “Go get ‘em, Tiger!” on my report cards!

 
2. Posted by Debbie [website] on Monday, Jul 21, 2008 12:39 PM (EDT):

You have that right!!!  I have a 3 year old son and a 21 month old daughter.  It is so fun to see them interact with each other, even at this very early age.  When they are not running around or in a pile on the floor, Thomas is always telling Samantha, “You can do it Sam...” He even asked her at breakfast yesterday “Do you love me, Sam?” I love boys!

 
3. Posted by Maryan [website] on Monday, Jul 21, 2008 4:24 PM (EDT):

Oh man.. the special handshakes, the NBA style chest bumps, the wrestling… which starts WAY earlier than a mom of five sisters would think… brotherly love definitely is a love of its own.

 
4. Posted by Gypsy [website] on Tuesday, Jul 22, 2008 12:48 PM (EDT):

Hmm...perhaps this is why my two and four year-old boys engender such gawking when they hug one another in public.  Which they do frequently.

 
5. Posted by Kristen [website] on Wednesday, Jul 23, 2008 11:12 AM (EDT):

As the sister of three younger brothers, I remember this phenomena well growing up. As the mother of a two-year-old daughter and ten-month-old son, I have already started to see it. My daughter tries incessantly to hug her brother and give him kisses. His response, pull hair! hard! So for now, big sister loves him from a distance.


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