From the moment he was born, I knew, somehow, that Jad (his nickname) was destined to add icing to my cake. He was born with a smile on his lips and a bounce to his steps. His destiny serves to intertwine with mine and make my life all that much better with every learning curve that he swerves past. I remember him falling off the steps in my in-law’s home once and earned himself a huge bump on his head so big that blood was threatening to come out from underneath the skin…and my thought was that My life would be over if anything were to happen to this bright light in my life.
Born cheerful and sensitive to the needs of others, he’s the exact opposite of what Josh is. When either one of us were sick, Jad would not wait for anyone to ask him for help. He would totter over to get water, wet towel, plaster, nail-clipper, toilet paper…whatever. And he’s not doing it because he wants to earn praise…he does it out of concern. Maybe it serves him well that he was born a little ‘bulkier’ and ‘solid’ than others (he was, after all, breastfed for three years) because he’s a protective creature with a penchant for protecting those he loves…very fiercely too. He could be smiling at you one moment but the moment you exhibit signs of threat, run for your life because he’s loud, he’s intimidating and bloody hell, he’s strong. I mean it! He’s six-year-old and sometimes I find it a struggle to wrestle him down. When Joshua got bullied in school, Jad was the one standing at the gate, asking Joshua, “So, where is this Amos, Josh? Let’s find him”. Damn tai-ko style, rite? But I didn’t teach him that, I swear! Josh with his inner maturity; Jad with his emotional and physical strength….they make a great brotherly team.
His exuberant energy and enthusiastic outlook in life is infectious, actually. While many kids his age would wake up with the need to punch someone’s face in, Jad wakes up with a smile and a big ‘Good Morning, mom”. But he’s not too good a loser, though, and that’s why he would always ask his brother to help him do the difficult parts of a game while he cruises through the easy parts.
But never mind….bravado on the physical front should get him through a lot, I guess. :-)
I dare say that there are benefits to breastfeeding your child till three – there is a kind of bond that you can’t quite name and place. It’s just there and when you hold each other close, it’s like you know each other so well that it doesn’t matter how bad the other is. It’s like knowing each other inside out and there’s a willingness to forgive and forget that you cannot understand.
This is what, I hope, will be between me and Jad for as long as we live.
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