Do you like me?

That was the question I overheard my three year old son ask his six year old sister.

Both of them chatting in her room, scouring the baskets of toys and odd nick-nacks for a "Clue" game piece that had gone missing.

"Do you like me?" he asked.

"Of course." She answers. A short pause. "I love you. You're my brother."

"Well I love you Lily. Even if you were not my sister."

"Me, too."

=======================

I hope that as they grow and are separated by distance, they are never too far apart. It's only now that I'm older, I realize that not only do I love my younger brother, I like him too.

Even if he weren't my brother.

I enjoy Halloween.

Not for the fact that I get to keep much of the kids candy for myself. I consider it payment for the "trouble" of taking the kids out past their bedtime to trick-or-treat, inspecting their booty to ensure compliance to my standards [safe, not too sticky, not possessing any ingredient which could cause a severe allergic reaction] and lastly, keeping calm in the face of constant negotiation from the kids as to how many pieces they wish to consume, simultaneously.

Come on, isn't one at a time enough? Trust me. Skittles and licorice pieces do not make a good combination.

I enjoy Halloween because the kids enjoy Halloween. I simply love seeing them talk for weeks about all the different characters they could be and then finally decide on the one.

This year, my two oldest choose to be characters in the Wizard of Oz. My daughter, Dorthy, complete with sparkly red shoes [wait till she reads the book] and my son, the lion.

All this banter is background to share this point. The Friday just prior to Halloween, the children were asked to wear their costumes to school. As an aside, what is it with boys and swords/sticks...every little boy in my son's class managed to incorporate one into his costume [whether it fit or not; I don't remember superman using a sword, but whatever.]

So, my son wore his lioin costume to school. It happened to be raining that day. So he wore his boots and raincoat.

Judge for yourselves, but I think he makes a good Mr. Tumnus.

Years from now I think I will remember him as my Mr. Tumnus, wishing somehow I could return to times when we snuggled close, sipping sleepy-time tea, eating tea cakes and reading about the adventures of 4 childen.