That couch, my bed, was as uncomfortable as it is ugly.
The Tuesday before last, we added a fourth member to our little family. Rory Oliver Faust was brought into the world (with a shocking amount of hair for a Faust male), and a tongue wanting to taste food less than five minutes after birth. He’s the spitting image of his older brother, but with this mother’s complexion.
After several sleepless nights in the hospital remembering just how dizzying it all is, we bumbled our way home in record heat and collapsed in an exhausted heap on the couch. The entire experience thus far has been the complete opposite to our inaugural voyage into parenthood, with everything going smoothly. Eerily so. But don’t get me wrong, there is no room for complaint here. It’s just amazing how far a little experience will get you.
We’ve had our bumps and 2am arguments. We’ve had newborn meltdowns and toddler tantrums. But as a family unit, it just feels right. It feels complete. And most importantly, it feels much less intimidating and overwhelming.
Even after The Wife™ and I are long gone, they will still have one another.
On Sunday, while The Wife™ caught up on some much-deserved sleep, Liam sat on the couch with me to help feed Rory. Jonas threw himself dramatically at our feet, never wanting to be left out of anything. As we sat there in the early dawn sunlight, Liam crawled into my lap to get closer. He’s fascinated with Rory, the concept of being a baby and not knowing how to do things. He loves his little brother far more than I ever expected he would. And as he sat snuggled in my right arm, holding Rory’s bottle so that the little one could eat, he looked up and me and said in all earnestness, ” Daddy, when Rory gets bigger I’m going to show him how to watch a movie, and ride bikes outside, and play soccer!” It touched my heart. Instead of being the expected jealous, angry oldest sibling he is in love with his role as helping hand and big brother. Instead of rejecting the newest member of our family and attempting to earn love and attention from otherwise distracted parents, he is embracing him. I feel an overall sense of peace in him–even if that doesn’t quite make sense. He has taken everything in perfect stride.
I know the newfound love will fade a bit with Liam, especially once Rory is old enough to steal toys or call him names or any of the other annoying things that little brothers do. But it gives me tremendous hope knowing that my sons might just grow up to be friends with one another, that they might be good people who focus less on what it’s cost them and more on what they’ve gained. Even after The Wife™ and I are long gone, they will still have one another. That counts for a lot.
We picked Liam up from daycare on Tuesday as a foursome for the first time. Upon learning that Rory was in the backseat riding next to him, Liam visibily cheered, jumping up and down. He was overcome with joy that he and Rory were going to ride together in the back of the car. And as we drove away towards home, Liam proclaimed, “Now we’re a square mommy! We make a square now!”
Yes, we do.
