In the mornings, sometimes I will stay in bed and start working right away. I will turn on my laptop and begin. My husband is usually working outside. He’s always finding something to do, working on the yard, on the cars, or inside the house.

The monkey will wake up and come over to my room to snuggle with me. Then my daughter will do the same.

I love having them both here. She’s working on her school work and he’s watching videos and we stay in bed for a bit. And I just treasure these mornings.

My daughter will tickle my son’s feet. And he will laugh and laugh. She always tells me how cute he is and how she loves his smile.

Yesterday was paint day. My husband and I were painting our living room and my daughter was going to keep an eye on the monkey. We could hear her ask him, “Do you want to swim my love?” Or “Are you hungry my love?”

She’s just so patient and loving with him. They have a beautiful bond.

We were talking about parties and I told her that maybe after all of this craziness is over she could invite some of her newer friends. She said she wasn’t ready. She needs to get reassurance that they understand the monkey. She wanted to make sure that they won’t mistreat him but that they treat him kindly. She’s always been very protective of him.

She said this is his home. He needs to feel safe without any judgement.

She always tells people about her little brother. Whether she is in class or has new coworkers or is making new friends. She is 4”11 but is fierce, and will always defends her little brother.

Yesterday he had an accident and had to be changed. He’s still not 100% potty trained when it comes to number two. He came over and gave wipies to her. His way of saying he needed help. We could hear her as they are outside. She tells him, “Don’t worry cutie. It’s ok. Let’s go shower you so you can feel better.”

She takes his hand and they walk upstairs.

We were talking to a friend of ours about the stuff we are doing to our home. We told him we need to get the house ready, fix any issues it has. In the event something happens to us and my daughter needs to sell the house to help take care of her brother.

He asked us, “I don’t mean to be rude but isn’t that mean? To put so much pressure on her? Wouldn’t you want her to have her life without having to deal with this responsibility?”

This is such an honest and real question. It’s very rough to hear but it’s true. Shouldn’t she be worried about her future without having to add my son to the mix?

The right answer is yes. She should not have to worry about her special needs brother.

But the reality is that she will have to. Because those are the chips that we were dealt with. Life brings many issues to our path. Our job is to figure out how to handle them. And for my daughter, her brother’s care will always be part of her responsibilities when we are gone. As much as we would have preferred her not to worry about him, we simply don’t have a choice.

And that’s just life. Everyone has their own obstacles to handle.

We always worry about his future. When my husband and I are gone, we know there will be many struggles. But the monkey has someone that will fight for him and love him unconditionally.

And for this, I am beyond grateful.