I hug my son goodbye at preschool. I tell him,”I love you. See you in a few hours.” He says, “Watch out for skunks and chipmunks!” My daughter asks where he is before we’re out the door. “Bo’s at school. We’ll come back and get him soon.”

I take her to story time once a week, just me and her. She sits on my lap and shyly looks at the other kids in the group. She asks me, “Where Bo go?”  I tell her, “At school.”

Then it’s time to pick up Bo. She rides home next to her brother with a huge smile on her face.

When I told people I was having a second child, I heard the oft stated, seldom explained throwaway comment “Well, you know, that’s more than twice the work of one child.”

My kids join forces against me, their loving mother and first common adversary. She throws her food on the floor at lunchtime. She fusses when I expect her to clean up after herself. Her brother comes to her rescue, relatively speaking. He throws his food on the floor and laughs along with her.

I wanted to raise children and I am lucky to be doing so.

We were at a museum that was quickly overtaken by students on a field trip. My kids were so little in comparison. They waited in line for their turn at a popular exhibit, the chaos of the field trip all around them.  I stood back a little to let them navigate it on their own.  I knew they could give each other “brave,” as he says.  And they did-standing close and holding hands.

I have two kids and it is the work of raising two children, plus.  I’m also teaching two children how to be a team, it is my favorite part of the job.

On Wednesday, Kristi from Finding Ninee is running an essay I wrote for her Our Land series.  In it, I share about my career as a teacher, a very rare thing for me to do online.  Please stop by her site on Wednesday and tell me what you think!