One of the most frequent comments we heard when Owen was born was, “All this and with a toddler…that must make it even harder.”
While I will agree there were more logistics to manage because Owen was not our only child, I cannot agree that our course was anymore difficult because of Kellen. To the contrary, I think he made it easier for us.
Because of Kellen, Kyle and I found something to smile about each day. Fortunately for us, he’s a pretty hilarious kid so laughing was easy. However, even when he wasn’t making us laugh, for Kellen, we always found something positive in each day. Because of him, we couldn’t get so completely sucked into the NICU and all things Owen that we weren’t able to keep living. Life was in slow-mo and not the same, but it didn’t stop.
Watching the boys together is one of my greatest joys. Owen follows his big brother everywhere and is always interested in what Kellen is doing. I get the biggest smile out of Owen each afternoon when I say, “should we go bye bye and get Kellen?” Kellen loves to make his brother giggle by blowing raspberries on his belly or dancing with him. And he’s so protective of Owen. He was with when Owen went to clinic last week and was visibly angry at the doctor for making Owen cry during the ear examination. He puffed up his chest and gave the dirtiest look a 3-year-old can give to that doctor and, for the rest of the appointment, he would not leave Owen’s side.
Thank you, Kellen, for reminding Mommy and Daddy that life goes on and that the world doesn’t revolve around any one member of this family. You’ve been so brave and strong through some really scary stuff that even we don’t understand. Thank you for accepting your brother for who he is and giving him a role model of what he can become. Thank you for the warm hugs each day and for being you.