Crying Uncle

I’ve always been somewhat of a motherly figure to my little brothers growing up. When I was just 11 years old my mom had to undergo brain surgery for an aneurysm which left her unable to care for the four kids for a couple of months. While we had many family members coming to stay with us, I felt like it was my duty as the oldest to take my brothers (barely 2 and 1 at the time) under my wing.

I’ve always acted like more of a mother to them than a big sister as the years passed. At first I think they liked it {who wouldn’t like having two moms in the house to do anything for you?} but as time went on and they got older, my motherly comments would turn into nagging to them. Their teenage personalities took over and I was no longer the “cool sister” but the old one who is married with a baby.

When Harlan was born I was nervous to how they would react to having a baby around. They hadn’t had much experience with one, so this was the first time to be able to hold one more than once. Trevor, the oldest of the two warmed up to her quickly. Evan was a lot more nervous than I expected and really didn’t want much to do with her.

In the past two years, I’ve watched my brothers go from lanky teenagers to young men. Both now in high school, I wasn’t sure how they were going to be with Harlan when we went down to visit all of last week.

As Harlan has gotten older, she’s been a bit weary of my brothers. Don’t ask me why, but she would cry whenever she saw them during our video chats with my parents. I tried to talk them up before we flew down to Tampa and apparently it worked because she couldn’t wait to see them when we arrived.

My brothers couldn’t wait to see her either. I couldn’t have asked for them to be better with her. Through my five days of being sick on the couch, they took her outside to play, would entertain her so that I could sleep, and formed a bond with her that was so fun to watch from afar.

Since we’ve left the house she’s asked for Trevor and Evan numerous times. I can’t wait to go back for Christmas so she can having more time with them.

Although I haven’t necessarily been the “cool sister” around my brothers growing up, I can already tell that Harlan will definitely refer to them as her “cool uncles.”

Thanks boys.