I wish I had a big brother like the one Kaitlyn has. Joshua is just so amazing with her!
While he still drives me nuts with his cavalier attitude towards his academics, his monosyllabic replies, and broodiness most times, when he is with her, he’s like a different person.
He loves making her laugh, and would perform all kinds of stunts just to get her giggling and copying him. I once caught him placing a lid on his head, and Kaitlyn was happily placing Duplo pieces on it while Joshua tried to keep it balanced.
And the way he comes into the room when she’s getting ready for bed, and gives her a hug and a sweet kiss on her cheek, anyone will see how much this big brother loves his little sis.
Recently, we have also explored his bookshelf for children books and he picked out some favourites of his for Kaitlyn. I knew how Joshua loved his childhood books (he still kept them after all these years!) and wanted to be sure he didn’t think he was losing them to Kaitlyn, so I asked him, “Are you ok to share your old books with her?” and he replied, “Yeah it’s ok. I think she’ll like them.”
Not only that, he has also taken on the role of storybook reader and sometimes reads to her at bedtime. And when I’m the one reading, he’d join us and snuggle close to relive the tales of Charlie Cook, Noah’s Ark, how a snail helped a whale, or how the lion cub taught a lesson on love etc.
I’m glad I’d bought and introduced Joshua to so many storybooks as a tot, and in fact, I sometimes look for a particular title to read and reminisce. Now, I look forward to sharing them with Kaitlyn as she grows.
But back to Josh…
I’ve also realised that no kid really outgrows being read to. A few months ago, I was spending time with Joshua in his room at bedtime and decided to look for a book I’d given him a while ago. When he said he hadn’t read it yet, I nagged him about maintaining a good habit of reading, and then said something like, “Fine, you don’t want to read it, then I read for you…” and I did. He ended up getting curious about what happened next in the story, so that trick worked! But I also saw how he enjoyed just me being with him, and reading to him must have brought back some fond memories of when he was a wee little boy.
Joshua always enjoyed books, even as a baby. He would sit and flip through the pages, and even attempt to ‘read’, more like reciting from memory what I’ve read to him. It was a joy to read to him as he always sat through the entire book without fuss — his concentration skill was amazing then, and still is today! But as he got older, his love for reading has waned with all the other distractions. I still encourage him to read… oh who am I kidding? I NAG him to read! And now that I know he still likes being read to, I have another bonding activity for just him and me! Sure am looking forward to that 😊. After all, one is never too old to enjoy a good storytelling!
The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.
Dr Seuss
