Tuesday, October 6, 2009

A Brother Like No Other

Ever since he was born, Christopher has been such a good, quiet little guy. When sad, he would not wail at the top of his lungs (like some baby we know, name begins with "B"...). Rather, he would just quietly whimper in the corner, as though not wanting to bother anyone with his little baby needs. He has remained the "least squeaky wheel" in this household of kids, and because of this, it seems he is oft the child who is easily missed. That makes me so sad. Because he is SO GOOD. Such a sweet, loving little boy. My buddy. Everyone's pal. Crispy is just terrific, inside and out. And it just makes me feel so bad when it seems he is simply overlooked so often.

So tonight, I was happy to spend some time doing something for him. It was nothing special, or out of the ordinary. It was merely attending his Cub Scout meeting. "Oh, whoopie....big deal," yes, I know. But hey, it is something that he always looks forward to, even though he is too shy to talk to any of the boys. He is always excited to try whatever activity his group has planned, and he does his best on any project presented to him. He has not yet been corrupted by the disappointments found in brutal reality, so he approaches every new experience with enthusiasm and anticipation. I love it!

We arrived 20 minutes late due to conflicting times with the girls' gymnastics end time and his meeting begin time....both being at the SAME time on opposite sides of the city. Poor kid....we had done our best to minimize time loss by arriving to gymnastics early. The plan doesn't work however, when the girls are the last ones to take their turns on the hanging bars. (Not to mention the excruciatingly long walk to the truck.) Again, poor kid. But just like always, no complaining ever comes from him.
Bethany and I watched on as Christopher enjoyed the activities of the evening :Feats of Skill. They played catch with baseballs and gloves (I think this was the first time Crispy has ever done this), attempted somersaults and cartwheels, did some fancy balancing struts on the beam, and ended with some silly races and basketball hoops. Being from a family equipped with virtual no athletic ability, I think it was fun for him to attempt some of these activities.
But the most fun he had was after those things were over. He immediately ran over to his baby sister and began singing to her : "Take Me Out to the Ball Game". He sang this over and over to her as she listened intently and gave him some of her biggest and brightest smiles.
I think he sang to her for about 10 minutes, well after all his little friends had left the gymnasium. He sang and sang, while Bethany smiled and cooed.Silly, funny faces as well, captured again, by my cell phone, as I have been neglecting to carry my camera around as the air gets colder and we are toting many other things around instead.But so very sweet was the scene.....just the two of them involved. I think that Bethany too, already realizes what a very special brother she has in Christopher. We are all so blessed to have that sweet, kind boy on our Team for Life. For all the time it seems we miss giving to him, I hope he knows how immeasurably we all adore him to bits!!!





C

1 comment:

Alyssa said...

What a great mom you are to just be in this precious moment and absorb the tender interactions between the two. I bet most moms would have rushed out and missed this priceless moment. So precious!