When I was growing up, as one of three boys (and the middle kid) our house was, well not so quite. For the most part, my brothers and I got along pretty well. We had the usual fights and pranks, but generally we were a team. When push came to shove, we stuck together as a formidable unit against our shared opposition - our parents.
One thing we hated was sharing one of the bedrooms with one of the other brothers, as we lived in a 3 bedroom house. Being the middle child, I got the shaft in terms not getting my own room that often. Basically, I had to share a room with Mike or Ken from the time I was three (when Ken was born) until I was sixteen (when Mike went to college). Of course there were times were it was nice to have a "friend" in my room. We would plan our battles against the other brother, which meant sneaking in "enemy" territory and physically attacking them (uhm, we were three boys, that is what we did - and still do).
All in all, we had a good relationship and to this day, we are all pretty close to each other.
Fast forward many, many years later. Mira & Eli have always been close. Mira has been fierce protector of Eli since the day he was born and Eli, well he likes to annoy Mira. Since Eli turned three almost year and half ago, he has been sleeping on a foam couch (using the word "couch" very lightly) in Mira's room. When we transitioned Eli from a crib to a toddler bed at three, we was very excited about it... for about 2 days. He would then complain that the "bad dream fairies" lived in his room.
Mira, being the great big sister and caring person she is, allowed Eli to sleep in her room. We thought it was cute and figured it would last a few days or weeks. Well, it has been about 16 months now and with the exception of a couple of sleep-overs, they have shared the same room.
We (ok, me) thought it would be a good idea to get a new kid's bed (a pretty cool one from IKEA) over the weekend. We told Eli that he did not have to sleep in it and could use it to play in during the day - after all, the "bad dream fairies" might still be there. Mira had other ideas. Why not both of them sleep there. So here they are not only sharing a room, but acting like an old married couple sharing the bed - which in itself is funny since they both move around when the sleep.
Along the way, we have seen them transform from sister and brother to best friends & playmates. Eli is now at an age where he can play most games that Mira makes-up. Mira helps Eli with his pull-up when he goes to the bathroom at night (if she would only wipe his tush!) This is the best part about parenthood, watching your children grow and change. Do I have an illusions that there won't be bumps in road? Nope - but I am treasuring this time.
