He Ain’t Heavy

[“He Ain’t Heavy” 8x10, available tonight at the #135show!]  When my baby, Owen, was eight months old, I found out I was pregnant with another boy. I started my family with twin girls, so I just laughed at the Irish twin boys that would now be just 16 months apart (you get the family that comes to you, right?). When Dallin was born he spent the first ten days in the NICU, which meant none of his siblings met him until we finally brought him home from the hospital. Owen, a baby himself, couldn’t talk yet but he climbed up right next to me on the couch and held out his arms and made the grabbing sign with his fist. It was clear he wanted to hold his brother. Feeling fragile about this tiny NICU baby I was only first holding myself, I gently laid him in Owen’s lap, keeping my own hands under him. Owen wasn’t having it. He put his chubby baby arms around Dallin’s body, batted my hands away, and lifted his brothers’ cheek right up next to him. He pulled him into this sweet hug and I can almost imagine the, “Where have you BEEN?? I’ve been waiting for you to get here!!” I burst into tears at the sight of obvious love from this baby big brother. It’s been four years now, and I’ve been amazed to see it continue. Owen looks out for Dallin in all the ways, carrying his heavy bucket of crayons, helping find his shoes, getting to the show he wants on TV. And sometimes I hear them tell each other, “You’re my best brother” and I melt right into a puddle. Brothers 💙💚