Siblings

Julia and I were headed to the high school so she could attend a mandatory meeting for all who were interested in trying out for the volleyball team.

As we drove, I suppressed a smile as I observed her checking her reflection in the passenger side mirror. She tucked an errant curl behind her ear, adjusted her sweatshirt, and tapped her foot to the music on the radio.

She has so much more courage than I did at the tender age of 13. Attending a new school would have been my worst nightmare.  However, she is facing this new season with excitement and a sense of adventure. She has already spent a couple of days in band class with her future classmates and now she is going to walk into a gym where she knows no one to sign up for the August volleyball tryouts.

“I think I’ll just send Josh a quick text,” she announced, pulling her cell phone from the pocket of her jeans.

She tapped out a quick message, then placed the phone on the dashboard to await her brother’s reply.

“What did you say?”

“I just asked him if he wanted to meet me in the parking lot,” she said casually. “We could walk into the gym together.”

This time, I couldn’t stop the smile.

Josh and Julia are only 19 months apart and while they were mostly buddies when they were small, the teen years have introduced a new dynamic and there has been some friction.  I have told them many times that they must have each other’s backs and be kind to each other.

I loved that she was reaching out to her big brother.

Josh hadn’t answered by the time we pulled into the parking lot. Undeterred, Julia said goodbye, hopped out of the car, and walked toward the gym entrance.

Shortly afterward, Josh showed up. I told him about his sister’s text but his phone hadn’t been on.  However, he told me that when he learned one of his friends was going to be at the  volleyball meeting,  he asked her to say hi to Julia.

Another smile…big brother was looking out for his little sister.

Julia returned to the car after the meeting, full of excitement. Among other things, she had a paper with workout suggestions. One of the things she had to do was handle the ball with someone else everyday.

Shortly after we got home, I heard the kids outside in the backyard. Josh was helping his sister.

This did my heart good. I loved seeing Josh be so willing to help his little sister achieve one of her goals. Also, it is music to any mother’s ears to hear the sound of her children laughing together.

Maybe they have been listening to me after all. 🙂

“To the outside world, we all grow old. But not to brothers and sisters. We knew each other as we always were. We know each other’s hearts. We share private family jokes. We remember family feuds and secrets, family griefs and joys. We live outside the touch of time.”–Clara Ortega