From Roots to Wings: Letters to my Children: Waving the White Flag

Brothers and sisters are as close as hands and feet.
~Vietnamese Proverb

This weekend, you both drove your father and me around the bend! :)

“Julia! Get out of my room!”

“Mom, Noah called me stink-bomb!”

“Dad, Julia hit me again!”

“NOOOO-AAAAAAHHHH!!!! STOP IT!!!!!”

You both were fighting like cats and dogs with each other so much; it felt as if it would carry on for the rest of your lives!

When it comes to siblings, I don’t have a clue. Growing up, I always wanted a brother or a sister, and I would cry every time friends or cousins would have to go home after visiting. Being the middle of three boys; your Dad definitely has a better idea. Dad would often say I had it lucky; but I think he was mainly referring to times such as when his expensive ball glove was ‘borrowed’ and not returned, or when his black jeans were washed with bleach.

(don’t get any ideas).

Nobody can make you like each other, but since you’re both human (at least you were when I checked last!) you must learn to respect each other. Remember that to respect someone, is to treat him/her the way you want to be treated too. We all have thoughts, feelings, hopes and dreams that are important to each and every one of us. While we may not always agree with each other, we need to understand that everyone matters. This is very hard to remember; even still for many people older than your Mom and Dad.

Noah, when you asked me the other day why Grampie ‘was in a war’ (WWII), it was basically because a lot of people no longer mattered, when they should have been respected. Because of this, they were treated very badly by another group of people who thought they mattered more. Grampie was one of the soldiers who had to fight that group of people in order for this bad treatment to stop. It’s because of the soldiers like Grampie, we live in a country where we are able to treat each other with respect and still be able to have our own thoughts, feelings, hopes and dreams.

There are a lot of other places in the world that still have trouble with figuring out how to do this.

While I’m certain World War Three isn’t going to ‘break out’ in our house (too often anyway), your Dad and I are going to do our best to encourage you both to ‘work it out’. As the years pass on and you create families of your own, you will still find that you will be able to count on each other.