The title of this blog comes from one of my favorite scenes in one of my favorite movies, Tommy Boy. And, it has been on my mind a lot since giving birth to our second son last week. It seems my older son really has the message down pat: when you’re brothers, you’ve gotta hug.

Shortly after finding out we were expecting another baby, I started to worry about my 2 1/2 year old son Dylan. He’s been the center of our universe for his entire life – now, he was going to have to share that attention and love with another little person. It was enough to bring tears to my eyes, thinking how he might feel sad or left out. I had the same feelings – on a smaller scale – when we added a second dog to our family. I didn’t want our first dog to feel any less loved.

From the moment Dylan met his brother Daniel in the hospital, many of my feelings were erased. He immediately wanted to touch, hug and kiss him and told his dad and I, “Danny’s my best friend.” Since we came home, it has been no different. He always needs to know where Danny is and what he’s doing – and, he giving an average of 20 hugs and kisses every day. Strangely, our dogs had the same reaction to each other when we first brought the second one home. Without the talking, of course.

I know it won’t always be smooth. I know that in the coming days, we’ll probably see some of the jealousy and resentment we worried about. But, until then, we’ll cherish every kiss and hug knowing that while the hugs will taper off as they get older, they’ll each have a built-in friend for life.

Popularity: 9% [?]