Laughing at Big Brother

Eli has been laughing for a few weeks now. My dad was the first to make him laugh which is no surprise as my day loves babies (he loves toddlers and big kids too, but he is really silly with babies). Anyway, the other day I was on the computer with Eli on the bed beside me and Caleb jumping all around the room (including the bed). All of a sudden I noticed Eli making a noise and upon paying a little closer attention, I realized he was laughing at his big brother as Caleb was falling on the bed. It was one of those moments where your heart goes "click" and you take an emotional picture (Angie Smith talks about this on her blog). So much came into my heart and mind at that moment. I realized just what it means for my boys to be brothers! Isn't it true that no one in the world can quite make you laugh like your siblings? Get my brothers and sister and myself together and there will definitely be laughter (occasionally disagreements, tears, put-downs, and other not so positive communication occurs, but we usually always laugh). My siblings have been making me laugh for most of my life now and I hope I have brought some laughter into their lives as well. Think about the history you share with your siblings. They, more than anyone else, have seen you- the real you. I have heard it said that sibling relationships are the longest relationships a person will have and when you think about how true that is, it really makes you appreciate your siblings and it also makes you desire to have good relationships with them. I am so very blessed in the sibling department. While my brothers and sister and I don't always see eye to eye, there are really few other people in the world I would trust as much as them. It is amazing to me to see that brother-brother relationship already emerging between Caleb and Eli with them still so little, but Eli already has the adoring eyes turned toward Caleb and Caleb has already taken on the somewhat rough big brother routine as well as caretaker with his younger brother. It was so funny to Jeremy and I the other day in the car when Caleb told us to stop talking because baby brother was asleep. I have also heard that people who have good sibling relationships tend to live longer. Sorry I have no source to credit this with, but it would make sense. If you can feel "connected" to something at an early age (a sibling) and that connectedness lasts throughout your lifetime, think how good that is for your general well-being. I pray and hope Caleb and Eli have a bright future to look forward to together as brothers.