Mia come home soon

Mia holding Ellie in her arms, both are smiling and happy to be together.

One of the things Ellie says most often is:

“Mia come home soon.”

Not because someone tells her to say it.

Not because she depends on Mia to care for her.

But because she genuinely misses her sister when she’s gone.

When Mia comes home from school, it’s immediately “MIAAAA!” being screamed through the house while Mia runs over for a hug from Ellie. And somehow, Ellie always seems to know when the bus is about to come. Nobody tells her. She just knows. She starts waiting, listening, excited for her person to walk through the door.

People often see siblings of disabled children and immediately assume they must grow up too fast. That they become little caregivers. That they’re forgotten in the middle of medical appointments, therapies, routines, and survival mode.

And I never want people to misunderstand their relationship as Mia being a caregiver, forgotten, or forced to grow up too fast because of Ellie.

At the end of the day, she’s still just a little girl. She has her own personality, her own interests, her own big emotions, and her own childhood. She loves gymnastics, school, toys, laughing too loud, dancing around the house, and being silly just to make people laugh.

Mia on a gymnastic beam posing with a leg straight in the air!

She isn’t responsible for Ellie.

She’s her sister.

And what makes their bond so beautiful is that none of it feels forced. It’s natural. Real. Mutual.

Mia has become Ellie’s safe place in so many ways without even realizing it. She encourages her to explore things she might otherwise hesitate to try. Ellie follows her voice, her laughter, her energy. Sometimes all Mia has to do is exist near her, and Ellie lights up.

Ellie sitting In Mia’s lap both on the floor , while Mia tells her the counter is infront of her so Ellie can touch it and ‘knock’ on it.

They annoy each other sometimes. They fight over attention, don’t always want to share toys, or want completely different things. Their relationship isn’t perfect because it’s real.

But they also genuinely enjoy being together in a way that’s hard to explain unless you’ve seen it yourself.

There are moments that stop me in my tracks like Mia wanting to hold Ellie while she drinks her milk before bed, or hearing Ellie immediately calm down when she hears her sister’s voice nearby. Small moments that probably seem ordinary to everyone else, but to me feel impossibly special.

Collage pictures of Ellie and Mia being together, smiling full of love.

Their relationship isn’t built around disability.

It’s built around love.

And I hope as they grow up, that’s what people continue to see first.

Just two sisters loving each other in their own messy, funny, loud, beautiful way.

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