And I never meant to cause you trouble

For a long time one of my favorite songs has been "Trouble" with the British rock band Coldplay. The band was formed in 1996, one year after my son Arne was born. I was never quite sure what the lyrics meant (was it about a spider?) but now I think it is as simple as a person regretting words and actions that, though not intended, hurt another person. 

As a mother I can relate to that. I have done so many mistakes as a mother - but "oh no, I never meant to cause you trouble". Today is my son´s birthday, he is a middle child. It is rough being a middle child. (I am a middle child myself). "The oldest kid gets undivided attention from overeager parents, while the youngest gets more freedom and special treatment. Meanwhile, the middle child is just there, squished between siblings.Right? 

In the book You’re a Better Parent Than You Think, Dr. Ray Guarendi defines MCS as “feelings of isolation, of not belonging. Enjoying neither the parental attention and expectations given to the eldest, nor the relaxed parental standards experienced by the youngest, the middle child is supposedly lost in the shuffle, caught in between with no unique position of his own.”(Quotes from Yohana Desta on Mashable).

Arne before he became a middle child

Well, we recover. And I know "that my [parents] never meant to do [me] wrong." I made this picture for Arne for his birthday. It is my humble way to express that I always loved him and I am sorry for words and actions that have caused him trouble. "I never meant to do you harm"!

Pencil and crayon on Canson paper

Someone has to be the middle child!

Russian painting on the lid of the wooden 
box where I keep my Caran d´Ache pencils