These two

These two are my stronger personality, extroverted kids.  They tend to get under each other’s skin more than either of them do with their older brother, who is quieter and less confrontational.

But we’ve always told our boys that they have a responsibility to look out for and defend their younger sister should the need arise and last Friday Matthew came through for Katelyn big-time! Unfortunately she has been struggling a bit with girl drama amongst a couple of her friends recently which ultimately led to her being bullied and pushed around on the school bus on the way home from school by a girl who isn’t in her circle of friends but who had heard about the drama and the accusations that were being made against Katelyn.  When she burst into tears and Matthew finally became aware of what was going on, he approached the other girl and in his most intimidating voice said, “You will not mess with my sister any longer!”  The other girl immediately let him know that she was not afraid of him to which he replied, “I don’t care if you’re afraid of me or not, you will not mess with my sister!”  She eventually backed down and uttered some half-hearted apology (to which he also called her out on) and the situation was diffused.  They got off the bus and walked up the driveway to our house arm in arm.

Since then, I’ve noticed a deepened bond between them … a trust that maybe wasn’t there before.

In fact, this morning as Matthew was getting ready to walk out the door to go to chess club, he stopped and hugged his sister and told her he loved her and would see her at school.

These are the moments that motherhood is made for.  Yes, these two fight and annoy each other, but they also love each other and look out for each other when need be.  I couldn’t hope for anything more!