[In the Shadows of Love] ~ Pedri.Gonzalez

Bonus 1

"Where'd all the time go?
Its started to fly"
⇋ ◅ ◅ I I  ⊳ ⊳ ↻

Emily POV

Oh, hello again to my life as a mom of two and the dream I'm living with my husband, Pedri. It's hard to believe how many years we've been married now. Last time I shared, you met our first baby boy, Lenor, who's already 8 years old. And now, let me introduce our second little one—a girl named Isabella, who's 6. I couldn't be happier with all the amazing memories I'm creating with my family. Yet, as every mother knows, raising kids is its own challenge.

"Mom!" Isabella screamed from the living room as I stood in the kitchen washing dishes.
"Mom, come here, please!" And now it was Lenor calling.

I dried my hands and walked to the living room, only to find the two of them standing face-to-face, clearly in the middle of a disagreement.

"Lenor, give me my doll now!" Isabella said, glaring at her brother.

"What's going on here?" I asked, trying to keep my voice calm.

Isabella ran straight to me and started talking. "Mom, Lenor took my Barbie doll, and he won't give it back!"

Before I could respond, Lenor jumped in defensively. "Mom, I just wanted her to play football with me, and she won't!"

"Mom, I don't want to play football!" Isabella yelled back.

"First of all, both of you lower your voices," I said firmly, crouching down to their level. "Lenor, sweetheart, you can't take things from your sister without asking nicely. If you want her to play with you, you need to ask and give her a choice."

"But, Mom—" Lenor began to protest.

"Let me finish," I said gently before turning to Isabella. "And you, my gorgeous girl, your brother is just trying to spend time with you. Why won't you play with him for a little while?"

"Because he only wants to play boy stuff, and I don't like it," Isabella pouted.

"See, Mom? I don't have anyone to play with! It's so annoying!" Lenor added, throwing his hands in the air.

I sighed, sitting down on the couch, looking at both of them. "Alright, I get it. Lenor, you want to play football, and Isabella, you want to play with your doll. But you're both siblings, and sometimes, it's good to find a middle ground."

"But Mom, she never wants to play football!" Lenor argued, clearly frustrated.

"And he always wants me to do things his way!" Isabella shot back.

"Okay, listen," I said, holding up a hand to stop their back-and-forth. "How about this—Lenor, you can play football for a little while, and Isabella, you can bring your doll and make it part of the game. Maybe the Barbie is the team coach, or she's cheering from the sidelines."