Yeah... He's All Right

There is somuchmore to dating when you have siblings. 

There’s the younger sister (a little too young to date just yet) who answers the door… and stares at the cute boy with her eyes glazed over… so completely dumbfounded that she can not speak.  She requires being guided out of the room with the instruction, “He’s not hear for you honey.” 

There’s an even younger sister who asks if he knows how to “poop in the potty”.

And a brother who when answering the door can’t remember the name of the boy… and after running through a list of previous suitors that would rattle the self esteem of any young man… none of us can remember this boy’s name! 

Or to keep it simple, you can have the little brother who just shows up naked to answer the door!

As the youngest sibling and now of age to date… it can be overwhelming… and heart touching to see how your brothers and sisters react to it.  The inquiry, interrogation, judgment, and background checks.  And this is mild compared to the examination and possible strip search of the boy who thinks he might date her.

First, what will she wear?  As her Mom, of course I want her covered and dressing modestly but, gratefully, I’ve never had to worry about this issue.  I have been blessed with children who do dress appropriately, but you would never know this by the scrutiny placed on what the youngest wears.  Never had there been a worry about her clothing until now… dating…and they would prefer she dress in long johns and turtleneck… underneath sweatpants and a hoody!

Second, they’re thinking, “Who has the audacity to think they can take her out?”  She was recently asked to the Homecoming dance.  As the news spread to her siblings, the first question out of every single one of their mouths was “Who is he?”  Her 18 year old brother, who recently graduated from the same high school and who knows the boys, pursued with “What’s his name?” and then “What’s his last name?”   I guess were judging entire families now as part of their investigation.

I smile at how blessed she is… and I smile because I know she loves it.  I’m sure it is not every sibling who places such high standards and demands on the dating of their little sister.  In fact, her sisters and brothers all plan to be there when she is picked up by this boy.  I hope they don’t make him cry.

And just as sure as I think we’ve heard from all of her siblings, I remember that we hadn’t heard from the oldest brother until the phone rings.  It’s him.  He wanted to let me know that he had looked up the boy on Facebook… the ultimate investigation apparently.

He says “Mom, I recognize the kid.  Yeah… he’s all right.”  Thank goodness.