Being the oldest

After reading the scriptures as a family tonight, D pulled C aside. I sat there and listened to the counsel my husband was giving to my son. D admitted tonight that it just hit him that C would be on a mission in just a year and a half. He talked to him about learning how to teach and that the time was now to prepare to someday serve the Lord as a full time LDS missionary. C is preparing and looking forward to that day with great anticipation.

Just before the conversation ended, D told C that he loved him and that he knew what was on his shoulders. (Being the oldest child. It's something that the three of us have in common.) I was glad that he recognized that.

As they both stood up, D told his oldest son that Heavenly Father chose him to be the oldest for a reason. It was very touching. Not only was my husband that much more handsome at that very moment, but I was touched also thinking about my own birth order. Was I too chosen to be the oldest for a reason?

I remember not thinking it was fair that my sisters got to wear nail polish at an earlier age than I did. Or that my youngest sister got her ears pierced years before the age of sixteen. Or the fact that ALL the sisters seemed to copy everything I did. We had the same hair dos, played the same sports, played the same instruments, etc. And then when I left home it seemed as though the family had a newer car, new carpet, and went on longer vacations. I was clearly the experiment. Or so I kept telling my parents.

I grew up though and those thoughts didn't last long. I could see clearly that I did in fact like my birth order.

I'm grateful that I'm the oldest. I'm humbled that I was chosen or trusted to be the oldest.

Just before C left the room, my thoughts returned to the conversation between C and D. I then told C that I loved him and that I was grateful that he was my oldest. He gave me a sweet smile and headed off to bed.

I loved watching an oldest son talk to his oldest son in a way that could only build him up. Have I mentioned that I love him? Oh, I do love that man.