Their car seats sit, tight next to one another, three across in the backseat of a Honda Civic -a study in spacial efficiency. Purchased at the same time, the car seats not only are uniform in color but perfectly matched to the Civic's interior upholstery. As of last night, each car seat has its own rider and the assignment of each rider to each seat was carefully planned. The order may change but, for now, the seating chart is complete.
Immediately behind the passenger seat sits Princess Leia. (Not her real name.) A studious infant, she rides in a rear-facing seat. Her personality works well for her parents as she mostly eats, sleeps, and smiles. When she wants or needs something, she vocalizes at first with a plaintive voice. As seconds or minutes pass with no attention given to her, her technique is simple but effective: Gradually increase frequency and volume of vocalizations until her needs are met. She has a penetrating gaze that will stop motion and a smile that can melt glaciers.
Taking the middle seat is TLV'sLB. (That is The Little Voice's Little Brother.) After two years of waiting and more waiting, he finally arrived, from Haiti, last night to join the family. At two-plus years of age, he is just young enough to realize that something has changed, faces are different, and so is the food! His disposition is very sweet and he is a whiz with his hand-to-eye coordination! Perhaps that is because he is a lefty!
Seated behind the driver's seat is TLV. As the oldest of the trio, he now assumes the role of 'big brother', and teacher of all things - good and not-so-good! As he and his LB grow accustomed to one another, all manner of silliness will hopefully occur more than the certain-to-be territorialism that two and three year olds are developmentally prone to.
One of my favorite photos from the last twenty-four hours is one where TLV and his LB are buckled into their respective car seats, next to one another for the first time. Mind you, this is elbow-to-elbow, forearm-to-forearm, leg-to-leg, foot-to-foot close-quarter maneuvers we are talking about here. The photo captures the priceless moment when they eye each other and you can hear the picture 'speaking'. The next picture, taken probably just a few seconds later, shows both boys looking forward, having forgotten their initial surprise of finding each other 'right there'. It won't be long 'til they complain if the car seat next to them is empty! It will be, "Where's my brother?"
There have been famous 'trios' in history and, until this moment in time, my favorite triumvirate was the Three Muskateers. (No, not the candy bar.)
Move over Athos, Aramis, and Porthos. You've been replaced. D'Artagnan would approve!
Ancora imparo
