Not that I ever question our having two kids, even having to endure all of the lunacy that raising them entails, but tonight I experienced one of the benefits of having two of my own flesh and blood in our house.
I came home from a busy, tough day of work and tried to exchange pleasantries with Ella who was sitting at the island in our kitchen and frantically typing on her "Discovery Kids" laptop. Yes, I tried. She didn't bite and eventually grunted a frustrated response that had nothing to do with me... or anything, for that matter. I don't remember what it was about, other than nothing that had anything to do with her, me or Dan, who was fixing dinner at the stove at the time.
I really just wanted a hug from her. She gives good hugs.
Rather than sulk and be sad that my kid wanted nothing to do with me, I immediately asked where Cal was. "In his room," Dan said. He barely had the words out of his mouth and I was calling for Cal. "Baby Bear?!" I called. No response. Dan followed by announcing that it was time for dinner; and, with that, I heard some footsteps and eventually saw Cal bounding down the stairs. He was smiling.
"Hi, Mama!" he exclaimed through his big smile.
"Hi, Baby Bear!" I replied, my arms outstretched and inviting him into them.
He ran to me and wrapped his arms around my neck. I wrapped mine around his torso and and then around his butt and picked him up to fully enjoy my much-needed, big-hearted hug from my firstborn. It was a long hug and made me smile.
And that is a benefit of having two kids. When one wants nothing to do with you, you can always turn to the other and just try again. It won't always work, but the odds of getting something good from a child increase exponentially when you have two.
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