Dear Eliza,
You are going to be a big sister!!!
This is major, life-altering, wonderful news. Your Mom and I are really excited for you to have a sibling -- a little brother.
You were such a good baby. We're encouraged to meet someone just like you. We're also nervous we'll have a worse sleeper or otherwise more difficult baby because you are hard to beat!
Unlike waiting for your calculated arrival, your brother has come along the old-fashioned way and it's all felt very quick. The boy is determined! Like most parents, we didn't have a preference if your sibling would be a boy or a girl. We only pray for a healthy kiddo just like we did for you.
The idea of a sister did seem a little easier to us because you've trained us so well, and of course she could wear many of your hand-me-down clothes. Girls like to share clothes, right? You'd be able to share a room when you're both older, too (which helps with our square footage scenario). But a brother is a new adventure for us as parents and for you -- to bout and bond with a boy near your age. Of course, God always intends for us to take the adventurous path.
I am glad to have a son to have a different experience as a parent. I have always been motivated to raise you, a daughter, because girls and women frankly often have more of an uphill battle in life. Society isn't always kind to women, and women aren't always kind to women, so I am motivated to help you become the smart, resourceful person who can be the change. With a son, I can raise the man who can help make better decisions than the men before him who created the circumstance that you will face. He will have his own challenges as well as masculinity has never been so complicated and polarizing.
Now, let me give you some advice, oldest sibling to oldest sibling...
Your brother will follow you around, constantly. He will get in your way. He will take our attention from you. He will annoy you. He will mimic you. These are all minor drawbacks for the love and appreciation you will share for each other over time.
While you will grow as individuals, you will always share your upbringing, values and sense of family. You will continue to emotionally and intellectually challenge each other when I slow down. You will influence each other to sometimes a greater degree than I will, and continue to emotionally and intellectually challenge each other when I slow down or am no longer around. He will be as much a part of your story as I am, and I'm thrilled you will have another great man in your life.
And I will be proud of the job you do as a big sister. He'll need you.
Love always, Dad