Thanksgiving 14

For the past 4 years that I've blogged, it's pretty obvious that I like my kids a lot. And in many ways, this blog serves as an on-going celebration of that joy they bring to my life: be it through laughter, tears or somewhere in between.

But this morning, as I'm sitting here in the silence of the morning (for some bizarre reason they are sleeping in. That like NEVER happens on a weekend), I'm reflecting on Thing Two and how his arrival some 10 yrs ago, completed our family in ways I never would have imagined.

When Thing One was about 18 months old, he stopped developing. Oh sure, he physically grew but that was about it. Hubby and I noticed but didn't really do much. I consulted with a co-worker at the time, and it was sort of the consensus "eh, all kids develop at their own rate, maybe with the pregnancy and everything..." No need to worry, let's wait and see what happens.

Shortly after Thing One turned 2, we had our first visit with a specialist and we learned that his development had apparently stalled out long before we'd even started to notice. He was 24 months old yet only 9 months old "developmentally".

And as hard as this was to process, we didn't have much time to dwell on what all this meant as I was about to deliver Thing Two.

Thing Two...the tag along brother. The one who sat quietly in the carrier while his older brother had this therapy or that consult. The one whose nap schedule got interrupted routinely as it was time to go pick up brother from pre-school and shuttle him over to afternoon special ed preschool. Occasionally, he would cry, wanting to go with brother to play with all those cool therapy toys. But more times than not, he was just along for the ride.

And that's when I really started to notice: he never expressed jealousy, and to this day, rarely does. He is his brother's biggest cheerleader and greatest peer-role model. We never put him in this position. He took it on himself.

I am not an overly religious person, but I am a woman of faith. I know without a doubt, that when Thing Two joined this family, it was no accident. From the timing of his birth (because trust me, we weren't thinking he'd be conceived as quickly as he was) to the ways of his personality (which aren't perfect. I'm convinced he's going to go into Law: where he will get paid to over-think, and argue/debate every little angle he can think of).

He is indeed "the perfect fit" and completes this family....and that makes me one very proud and thankful Mom!