We recently went to a mad science night. The kids had a blast watching things explode,bubble, change color etc. But one moment of the night melted my heart. The Scientist asked for volunteers. Trent was selected and he went up and got ready to make things explode. Then more volunteers were needed and Dylan excitedly raised his hand and he was chosen. He was so happy, not because he was a volunteer but because he was chosen with Trent. The first thing he said was "that's my brother...right there...the one in the black shirt..he is MY brother". The scientist said "wow" and moved right along, but Dylan was positively beaming. He waved down the line to Trent to make sure he noticed that he was chosen too. The second he was able to help someone, you guessed it, he wanted it to be Trent. Trent was his brother...he belonged to him and Dylan belonged to Trent. Dylan was so happy because they were to share in this experience together. It is amazing how important it is to belong, to be able to say that person is MY sister, mom, dad, husband. We need that, we even crave it. We need someone to own us, to take responsibility to help when we mess up, and to be there to fix us when we feel broken, someone to celebrate all our joys like they are their own and to feel our sadness as if it is their own heart that is broken. I am so thankful to belong to this family and to have children who know that they belong too.
