Wednesday 20 June 2012

The Gallery: Family

This post is for Wk 102 of Tara's Gallery. Click here to see all the other entries...

When I was younger and child-free, I always imagined I would quite like to have 4 children.  Well - 2 or 4; for some reason an even number appealed.  Then, I met my Husband, got married, and had babies - but just the two.  We were agreed that 4 would be nice, but the timing just didn't work out and now I have to admit to being quite relieved about that.  So instead of a big rumbunctious family with 4 children, we just have our two boys.

The summer holidays have already started for us (you may have heard me mention that fact once or twice, on here and on Twitter), and we're staying put for the next couple of weeks or so before we head back to the UK for a while, unlike many of our friends here in Moscow who jumped ship the moment the school bell rang.  "How are you going to manage?" they ask, concerned for my mental health.  "What will you do with the kids, stuck in Moscow with no school?  Won't you go crazy?"

Well, no, I won't.  Because in addition to setting up 'playdates' with various friends, I know that there is one resource my boys will have.  Four years ago, when they were 4 and 2 respectively, we took them to Australia for 5 weeks.  Apart from a couple of days in the middle and at the end of our trip when we met up with friends, and the odd occasion when they teamed up with other children wherever we happened to be staying, it was just the four of us.  We had a limited number of toys for them to play with, and were in almost constant motion for much of the time.  You would think that we might have gone crazy then, but during the 5 weeks a wonderful thing happened; our Boys discovered each other.  They became more than brothers, they became friends.

Nowadays they're like any other brothers; they play, they fight, they playfight, they learn from each other, they comfort each other in the dark at night, they  tell rude jokes, they make each other laugh, sometimes they make each other cry, and then they make-up and start the whole thing over again.

 But no matter what, they are - and always will be, I hope - each other's family.


13 comments:

  1. How adorable. I hope they remain as close for many many years :) You can never underestimate what a brilliant friend you can have in a sibling x

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  2. Gorgeous. As much as my two boys fight, they always have the ability to stop and tell each other that they love the other. I taught them love. How awesome is motherhood?

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  3. My kids were always close and each other's best friend when it came down to it. It was a real blessing. I'm glad yours get along well.

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  4. That is so sweet. I really hope my boys grow up to be the best of friends.

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  5. I think this is unfortunately so rare between brothers. Cherish it, they indeed have a beautiful relationship!

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  6. Ahh. Very sweet. My boys are very close too. They seem to much prefer each other's company to anyone else's.

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  7. yep my boys are the same out of sheer necessity and it's great! Also helops that they can gang up on me the Monster Mum who always says no!

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  8. Love this Potty. Just love it. I actually don't think it's rare. I know of at least four friends who are very close to their brothers. And they all had the same sort of upbringing - one where family came first and they all hung out together.

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  9. How lovely and a lovely photo!

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  10. My boys had a typical brotherly relationship(some good, some bad, nothing amazing in either direction) until Son#1 went to University and the 2 of them discovered that they actually missed each other and spent quite a bit of the semester Skyping with each other. Now that Son#1 is back from University for the summer, it's done my heart good to see how much they enjoy their time together as friends as well as brothers. In fact, they've just headed out the door together as I type this...grateful, and very happy for them.

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  11. Lovely post and an equally lovely picture.

    Herding Cats

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  12. Cute photo.

    I think that's what every mum wants for their children to get on and be friends. I know my mum used to say all the time when my brother & I were fighting that she hoped she ended up friends when we were older. And we do get on (when we catch up!)

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  13. Oh sniff....this is lovely. My boys are great friends too and it's been an absolute joy to watch their relationship develop. I'm an only child, and i feel so jealous of their closeness. I wish I'd had a sibling, and I wish even more that my boys remain as close as they are. x

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