The littlest big brother

Wow, I have had this title and picture saved as a draft for a MONTH!
Well, a month ago my heart was very heavy, because my "little boy" was not doing very well. It seemed that adding a new sister to the bunch was hard on him. He was so withdrawn, naughty and way stand-off-ish.
Him and I have always been so close, and he is a very kind, incredibly funny and very affectionate little boy. His future wife will be one lucky lady, because he is the BEST kisser! Sound effects, hugs, and all! Whew! To see him so indifferent and shut-down was very hard on me. Good Lord, what had we done to him! I was so afraid that he would turn away from me, and that he would resent his new sister. He never hugged or kissed her, and preferred to stay away from her. He was never ever mean to her, but kept his distance. A big distance.
A month has made a HUGE difference!
Nina and Elia have very similar interests, love anything that takes good fine motor skills, and Elia was very proud to teach her how to make little bead pictures. We tried to encourage him by telling him what a good brother he was, and how many things Nina was learning from him.
He basked in that praise.
And now with the kids in school, they get to spend a lot of time together, and I can finally say that he has found his inner balance and peace again. I get the big hugs and kisses at bedtime again, the sparkle in his eyes has been restored, and he is happy to play soccer and to start swimming lessons next week (we signed him up, but he ended up on the waiting list, which devastated him.... and I just got called a couple of days ago that they had a spot for him now! Praise God!)
He is beginning to really like his sister, and they hug and kiss when we drop him off at preschool.
This is such a weight off my shoulders. Not that is was my weight to carry anyway, but I'm kind of a slow learner when it comes to letting go and just trusting...
Anyway, I have my Hoover back, and I'm so very, very happy about it!