The wall we'll leave behind

Soon we are going to welcome our third child, a daughter.  In my tangle of hormones last night I began to cry reflecting on our current family and what is to come.  Our son is the serious, introspective one.  He loves his younger sister and wants to be friends with her.  Unfortunately sometimes she is not interested.  She is independent, loud, boisterous, and funny.  She does love her brother, but usually on her own terms.  He seems blissfully unaware of this fact, thank goodness.  The two of them do have quite a bond. 

They are both so excited to welcome baby sister.  It's hard to believe that we are just about to do this all over again.  What has struck me the most over the past couple of days is that we are currently moving quickly towards a wall.  The day she is born, a wall will be erected.  It will be too tall to climb over, too wide to chisel through.  Once she is here, we will all 4 find ourselves beyond this obstacle which keeps us from coming back to this reality where we now live.

There is a sadness in this reflection for me.  For over three years it has been "us."  How will she affect the balance?  Will she come between her brother and sister?  Will their bond survive?  I am not necessarily worried, but just aware that these are the last precious days of life as I know it.  Love for her will definitely flood out any sadness or longing for this time. . . but in the meantime I am reminding myself to enjoy them as I know them now.  Soon we'll all be changed.