Whoever coined the phrase..."Two is company, but three is a crowd"... was not the mother of three boys.
My little two have missed their big brother terribly since Tucker started high school. It's not like he has moved away or is actually gone, but things are different.
Instead of all three of them walking to my classroom after school, Tucker goes to football practice every day and the little two come alone. Sawyer, Carter and I come home for about 3 hours after school before time to go back and pick Tucker up. Immediately after school is prime time for play time. Tucker now misses that part of the day. The littles are now left to fill this time without him. So far, it is proving to not be working out so well.
This morning, as Tucker walked away toward the high school, and we walked toward the elementary school, Sawyer asked,
"Is today the day that the varsity team plays their game?"
I knew immediately why he was asking. The day the varsity plays their game is the day that the junior high team doesn't have practice. Sawyer was wanting Tucker to come home after school. I answered,
"No. Not today. That's tomorrow."
Sawyer let out a big sigh and his hopeful look turned to sadness.
"You miss him don't you?"
"Yeah. I wanna play with him again."
After school, the mood got even more sour. Sawyer and Carter could not agree on anything! They made a big pile of pillows to jump on, but it lasted only a couple of minutes before they were upset with each other. Carter had landed on Sawyer's finger and Sawyer had a major hissy fit about it. I made them clean up the pillows and try to think of something else to do. They absolutely could not agree on an alternative activity. There was a lot of sneers, huffs and puffs, and "I don't want to play that!" I told the boys to go to their rooms. They were instructed to stay there until they wanted to compromise. They could come out and go to the other brother's room at any time they were ready to work something out.
They stayed there.
And stayed there.
And stayed there.
I eventually decided that they must not have understood what I meant. So I went to Carter's room. I told him that he could come out and go to Sawyer's room and talk to him to decide what to play together. Then I went to Sawyer's room. I explained that he could leave his room, if he wanted to go talk to Carter and see what he wanted to play.
Sawyer replied, "I probably won't like what Carter wants to play. I bet it will be pirates or something else I don't like."
"OK, then just stay in here!"
Then, I slammed the door. I am not proud of that.
I was fuming at my younger sons inability to get along. And sad that they weren't playing happily. And I was missing Tucker, too.
Sawyer and Carter do love each other. Very much. And they get along, most of the time, but they fight, too. They fight infinitely more than the three of them together.
At that moment.....right after I acted like an idiot, the phone rang. It was Tucker. He was finished with football early. I made the announcement, we grabbed shoes, and we hit the door.
We picked him up, and everything was as it should be. The events that had just happened moments before were a just a memory. Everyone was happy and smiling. We were getting reports of Tucker getting "ear holed" at football practice and of making another 100 on a test. All three boys were giddy at the prospect of playing "trampoline football", their favorite game, together outside before it got dark.
As I am writing this blog, all three boys are playing happily outside. I haven't heard a single peep from them in the two hours since Tucker got home.
Sawyer and Carter are like peanut butter and jelly. But Tucker is the bread that holds them together.
This photo still hangs on the main wall in my living room. I have taken many photos since this one was taken years ago, but I cannot replace it. It perfectly shows, in a photo, the relationship my boys have with each other. The little two lean on Tucker and cling to his every move. And he is always there to support them.
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