Love Your Brother

I still have a touching image of brotherly love in my mind, and it's based on an incident that occurred at bus duty early this morning. Since our children begin arriving about 7:00 and school doesn't begin until 7:45, they wait in either the cafeteria or the gym until 7:30, when they're dismissed to go to class. Teachers take turns overseeing students as they wait. This week is stressful for the staff at our school because it's the first week that all 300 plus kindergarten students come to school for the entire day. During the initial 2 weeks of school, kindergartners have staggered attendance, coming only one day per week. This allows their teachers to have small groups of 4 or 5 children in order to teach them the rules and routines of school in a more intimate, comfortable setting. This week, morning bus duty has scads of tiny, hesitant 5 year olds coming to the door of the lunchroom and just standing still as they look around the crowded area. Many staff members are on hand to gently guide them to the correct waiting area. Well this morning two little dark-haired boys slowly walked in together, one half a head taller than the other. They were both handsome and looked very much alike, telling me that they were most likely brothers. Seeing that they were proceeding timidly through the crowded cafeteria, I checked to see whether they needed help. In a shy voice, the older boy asked if he could stay with his kindergarten brother, who was obviously anxious about being left alone in the unfamiliar setting. I told Big Brother that he could walk his little brother over to the kindergarten section, but that he'd have to go to the gym with the other second graders afterwards because we were out of seats in the kindergarten area. Although the boys didn't argue, they quietly turned to each other and gently put their hands on each other's shoulders. The big brother placed a tender kiss on his young sibling's head as the little one fought back tears, and they just stood there in that position. I gave them a few seconds to gather their courage, and then I put my hand on the kindergartner's back and led him to a table. Looking back across the lunchroom, I noticed that his older brother was still in the very same spot, checking to make sure the little one was safe and settled. Only when I went back and reported that all was well did the older boy leave the room to walk down to the gym where the other second graders were. My heart was warmed because these little fellows so obviously had a tight bond of family loyalty, and Big Brother played his role of protector to the hilt!