My favorite part of today?

It wasn’t the awards.

It wasn’t the end of school excitement.

It wasn’t even the knowing that no more lunches would have to be packed over the next 11 weeks.

It was these two.

An older brother, a sixth grader this year, and a younger brother, a fourth grader.

The oldest asked what he should wear and I asked for what.

I’m going to Russell’s awards day, remember?

Of course I didn’t remember.

I am an exhausted sloth at this point and just trying to not leave anyone somewhere.

And so, we went.

He listened and watched carefully and worried about the brother whose name wasn’t called (it came later.) At the end, the older left his seat to walk the younger back to his classroom.

My favorite part.

They fight and argue and wrestle and smack and berate, but they love each other when it matters most.