Friday, February 6, 2009

An Ocean Between Us

On Wednesday nights I take a break from mothering and have a little fun at belly dancing class. We're choregraphing a piece together and this week I found out one of my classmates is leaving.

"I'm moving to Belgium," she said.
"Belgium?" I gasped, all the while thinking there has to be love involved. "Why Belgium?" I asked. She smiled and said, "My boyfriend's moving for work and asked me to come with him."
"Ahhh...," I said, knowingly. Immediately, my heart went out to her sister who is also in our class. I touched the sister's shoulder lightly. "And are you okay with that?" I asked. "No," she replied in a strong voice. "I am not okay."

Thank goodness neither young lady was upset by the show of emotion. The topic quickly changed to the awesome visits they would have once she had moved. I confided that I once wanted to work in Italy, but couldn't because it was too far away from my family. When I finally did move, I was six hours away from my sister and it nearly killed me. We all laughed. But the truth about siblings, especially those that are bestfriends, is that they love one another enough to support each other's decisions. They don't really want to be separated nor do they ever want to see the other hurt, but they'll let them go if they say it will make them happy.

This bond starts early in life and if nutured by parents and caregivers, blossoms to tremendous proportions. Eventually, it can become so powerful that we have no choice but to go out into the world and sow that same seed. How happy I am that my sister and I can play a part in spreading this message to children everywhere! Do you have a close relationship with your sibling(s)? Tell us about it.

No comments: