Here we are… The happy parents of two boys…enjoying A Last Supper as a family of four…that is until tomorrow.
Tomorrow we make the colossal leap from a family of four to a “Party of Five.” And with the birth of The Baby we will be doing to The Subsequent child what we said we would never wish on another child.
We will have created our very own Middle Child.
My wife and I are both middle children, and we have lived a life with the world against us. It’s a fact.
The Firstborn reigns supreme in the land of Children and The Baby is afforded all the luxuries of being the most precious of the clan. The Subsequent Child…now to be referred to as the outcast Middle Child, will probably suffer greatly in this life because of the twisted world in which Middle Children have always had to struggle.
Oh well little Middle Child…that’s life.
I know, I know. We will most likely come down on you harder than we did for The Firstborn when you don’t behave as we expect, but The Firstborn will have shown us the error of our ways. We will try to make up for our own deficiencies in parenting by correcting you more often, and by the time The Baby can be held accountable for his actions…well…we’ll just be too darn tired to care.
But know this, Children of KTOWN, no matter how unjustly you are treated because of your birth order, we expect you all to fully support us in our golden years.
Firstborn…you are the big guy now and we expect you to pass down the wisdom of your age to your siblings…or…Pawns as you will lovingly think of them.
Middle Child…life is hard. The sooner you learn this, the sooner you will appreciate it and the sweeter your victories over your older brother will taste…even though they may seem few and far between. I hope that fact comforts you during the hours in which you spend in the corner entertaining yourself because mommy is too tired from cleaning up after The Baby. And even though it may seem that we love The Firstborn and The Baby more than you, we don’t. Our goal with all of you is the same…to get you all out of the house as soon as possible.
And The Baby. Well…your job is to remain cute and compassionate toward your parents through all circumstances. Look upon us with grace at all times, and remember, we choose to have you last…
Unless I can convince your mother to let me near her again. In that case, you better be kind to The Middle child because you may soon join him in his plight.
But no matter what…know this…you boys are gifts from God, and your mother and I are blessed to have the privilege to share our lives with you. The hopes and dreams we have for you are nothing compared to the joy that will be found in serving God with all your hearts and receiving the blessings He has stored up for you.
We love you.