Sharing the love

We went swimming with my family this Thursday at the hot springs by our hometown, Riverdale Resort. While there I was paying close attention to my oldest sister, Alicia. I have two older sisters; the older one, Emily, has four kids, and the oldest, Alicia has three. While at the hot springs and I playing with Boston, pushing her around on her tube, giving her treats,singing to her, making sure to give grandpa and grandma a turn with her... Ect... Then I was watching Alicia; she was watching her oldest, a 13 year old boy show his improved swimming skills since he is trying out for a swim team, while also playing with her 8 year old son, who was climbing on things, bugging his brother and doing what 8 year olds do, while also chasing after her two year old daughter: who is the definition of a two year old and is everywhere. She was sharing her love and attention with three while I was just giving my love and attention to one.


If you know me you know I am huge on "favorites". There was a story in the news a few years back about a mom and her two children who were up in a tree during a tsunami; the mom had an 11 year old and a 3 year old she was holding on to and knew she couldn't keep everyone safe much longer; she reasoned that the 11 year old probably had a better chance of survival so she let him go, and held on tightly to the 3 year old. Luckily we later found out that all three of them survived... but I wonder, for the rest of her life is that 11 year old going to wonder why her mom liked her brother more to hold onto him?

I have a (huge) tendency to try to bug my parents and sisters, (it must be a youngest child thing) and I ways ask my mom and dad if they were at the top of a tree in a tsunami and holding me and one of my sisters who would they let go of. It's a well known fact that I am the favorite child--- that whole sentence was a lie I just was hoping for my mom to read that--. Because I have asked it so many times my mom has gotten to the point where she just says she would let us both go since we are all older than 11.

Sometimes I will look at Boston and think that there is no possible way I could ever love a single thing as much as I love her. Let me clarify before I go on... I AM NoT PREGNANT... But the huge majority of parents have more than one child, how do you love them all equally? This literally has been on my mind all week.

My own mom always says she loves us three girls all the same amount but differently. I love chocolate all the same amount but I love Rolo's more since they have Carmel, (yes, I did just compare kids to chocolate). It has literally been mind baffling to me.

My sisters are a lot older than me so growing up I don't really remember them at home. If I had a dance recital, cheer competition, or piano recital my parents were there, usually right on the front row. But what if you have two kids... Who have something in different places on the same night... Do you pick one over the other? I have a few friends who have baby's that are close to the same age as Boston and they now have another on the way, I ask them all the time if they are worried that they wont feel the same way about the new one as they do the current one, or if they will love the new one more because of that reason, they are newer and smaller...

If you are a parent of more than one you should help me out because for some reason I can't comprehend it. I just don't think if I were to ever have a second child I could love them as much as Boston; she is so perfect. And, again I will reiterate my sharing limit is terrible at times.

I will post our real post and update for the week later this evening...This may be one of the longest and most random things I have composed, but really it is hard for me to fathom... How do you share the love equally?

XO:
Ashlynn