Siblings and thankfulness

Today I have changed the information on my profile!  Twice a year I will need to update the ages of my children, and today is TD's brother's birthday.  He is 23.  And for the first time he is celebrating away from home, as he is in the UK studying for his Masters in Mathematics at Cambridge University.  His level of intellect, determination and ability blow me away.  Mothering my children has been (and continues to be) the utmost privilege of my life.  There is a large age gap between the two of them - for complicated reasons that involve miscarriages and failed fertility treatments and years of longing and angst (enough to fill another blog).  I am forever grateful that I am the mother of these two incredible beings.

The relationship between siblings has interesting dynamics.  Our son has always been protective of TD, sometimes even more of a parent than brother.  This is probably because he is 9 years older than her, and also has to do with his gentle, caring personality.  When she was diagnosed with T1, he and Andrew were away and had to make a midnight dash to be by her bedside in intensive care. He was calm and helpful, and when she was in the ward he helped by patiently spooning mouthfuls of food into her when she was having trouble swallowing the hospital fare.  He told her funny stories, encouraged her, and made sure she had suitable movies to watch on a laptop (The TV in the paediatric ward only offered Barney, Noddy and other such programmes: a bit infra dig for TD's tastes).

The biggest gift he gave her at this stage is, I think, the solid knowledge that TD would be able to take care of her own diabetes.  He believed in her, and told her so. He has always looked at diabetes as a learning challenge for TD, and one that she is more than capable of handling.   

I know there is a cost to him.  Diabetes has meant a lot of time and worry has had to be directed in TD's direction.  I realise he worries about her, and probably us.  It has landed an extra layer of gravity to our family life.  I also know they love each other dearly and now that they live so far apart, they miss each other too.  That is not to say they don't get on each other's nerves at times, and the age gap is quite pronounced at this time, as they are at such different stages in their lives.

Updating a status is a good time for reflection.  I am glad I will need to do it regularly, because I too change, and I would like the information to reflect that. Today I am thinking about cohesion, cake,  individuality and community, birthday celebrations and the power of family. I have so much to be thankful for.