love

This school year has been hard for big sis. I hesitate to tell her story now that she is getting bigger, so I'm not going to say too much. Only that the transition to a new school has been a challenge. It's hard for 9 year olds to express their feelings, but one thing that big sis has said is that she misses being at the same school with my buddy.

When you are my buddy and school is extremely hard work, you get some special treatment - like sensory breaks, motor breaks, 'jobs', etc. All these things gets you out of sitting in a classroom for long periods of time. During my buddy's wanderings about school, he often ran into big sis typically greeting her with a big hug. Sometimes she walked with him. Sometimes she helped encourage him to do what he was supposed to. Sometimes they just shared a hug and went on their way.

Big sis, up until this year, has been at the same school as my buddy. He was in PreK when she started Kindergarten. He is her security blanket. He helps her feel brave.

To the casual observer, watching big sis take time out of her recess to walk my buddy into school may seem unfair. It also seems unfair to leave a fun activity just because my buddy has had enough. The list of things that are unfair is long.

What big sis knows, that the casual observer doesn't, is the depth of his love. There are no words to describe how it feels. My buddy doesn't hold back when expressing himself. He is all in. Sometimes he's expressing dislike which can be hard to deal with. But when he snuggles in tight and murmurs your name, there is nothing like it. My buddy and big sis love each other more than any one else. Big sis sees it as a privilege to help him when he needs it. She gets paid in love.