A Spring of Joy

Tomorrow we are having Bear’s birthday party. He’s having a joint party with a friend who is 11 days younger than him, and it has been one of the primary topics of discussion for the week. Even now, as the boys head up to their room to get ready for bed they are scheming.

I love listening to them. Their boyish chatter as they plan and talk and prepare. My Ash is just as excited for the party as Bear is, and their camaraderie abounds today. I watched them work together today as they bought football cards and divided them between them, then work together on Wii Clone Wars to beat the level.

They are brothers in every way. They push each other’s buttons and fight and compete, and every now and then Ash asks me when he can have his own room.

But when the Wii seized up twice and Bear started to fall apart, it was Ash who knelt beside him and said, “Let’s just give the Wii a rest and do something else. Then we won’t get so frustrated.”

They are brothers in every way, yes, part of which is helping each other along in this life.

It warms my heart to hear them chattering away upstairs… only it doesn’t sound so boyish anymore. It sounds like growth. It sounds like best friends.

And it’s a beautiful sound.