New Year’s Eve

12/31/2011

The last day of the year.  Crazy.  Elizabeth’s Senior Year is almost half over. (This is not me “counting down,” This is me, speaking the truth.) This also means that Nick’s Freshman Year is also nearly half over.  He’s handled the adjustment to high school quite well.   I am very aware of, and thankful for, God’s hand in this.

Often, I think about the difference in Elizabeth’s and Nick’s experiences.  So many of them are shared, and yet, they each bring their own perspective…and then there’s “birth order.”  I’ve not read the parenting books on the topic…not because I’m opposed to considering it (though I do think we parents ought to pay more attention to our real-life children than to what someone else says might be true about them, based on birth order or any other factor)…but I digress.

What birth order means to me, for our family, is that Elizabeth is like the bow of our family ship.  Whatever her latest developmental stage brings our family into new waters – a new phase in parenting, a new stage of family life. When she was going to Kindergarten, we researched every option.  Since we were happy with her experience, it was a “no-brainer” a few years later when it was Nick’s turn to go to Kindergarten.  Same with Middle School and High School.

As the oldest, she has blazed the trail for Nick, and for her 4 cousins, too.  She is strong for the task.  She may have a little windburn on her cheeks to show for it, but she loves the role.  I believe she was chosen for it.  God blessed her with courage and an independent spirit (and it doesn’t hurt that she can stand being the center of attention).  Nick seems quite content to be just a few paces down the deck.  I daresay he is aware of how he has benefitted, especially this year – being Elizabeth’s brother has afforded him many opportunities that many Freshmen don’t enjoy.  I think he is grateful NOT to be the center of attention, at least most days.

And now the bow is pointed toward new seas again.  It might seem like it is all about Elizabeth, but Nick and the rest of us are here with her on the deck. Leaning over the railing, enjoying the breeze and the knowledge that God is at the helm.