6/16/15 Observation (Sibling Interactions)

When I got off the subway train this morning, I noticed a family of four ahead of me. It was comprised of a mother and her three children—a tall, lanky, confident looking boy about 12 or 13 years of age, a slightly shorter boy who looked to be about 10 and a young, energetic girl who may have been 6 or 7. I was too far away to catch any of their conversation, but what drew my gaze to them was the sense of camaraderie I felt between all the children. At the beginning of our travels together, the eldest boy and the young girl were closer to me and the mother and other boy were a few feet in front of them. As the little girl, free spirited in demeanor, was looking up at him and laughing, the older boy smiled down in return and reached out, clasping her hand in his. Around the same time, the younger boy looked back at them, and his face broke out into a grin. A few steps later, the older boy had the younger girl in a loose headlock and, as though mocking his physical display of older sibling dominance, she made no struggle in captivity but laughed and laughed and laughed. At another point during the journey, the two boys were walking side by side while the little girl stopped to briefly wave at a black colored pug whose coat was being treated to a very affectionate and vigorous rub by his/her human guardian. I did note that though the mother stayed in the front for the most part, she did look back, from time to time, to take in the whereabouts of the children. There was something about her approach that felt like it fostered (or could foster) a healthy confidence and independence in the children and their sense of self in the world smile emoticon Finally, our journey “together” came to an end when they made a turn onto another street. I hope they all have a wonderful day smile emoticon I'm really glad to have borne witness to their early morning interactions.