When I recall my childhood, have erased the multitude of fights and scraps that I shared with my little sister. Those memories have been completely wiped from my recollections and replaced with fond memories of the 2 of us in family harmony. That's not entirely true, I can still think of my mom trying to peace keep the two of us that seemed to be at odds at any given moment. As adults, we are besties. My sister is my other half, she knows me inside and out and there is a history that is woven into our fabric that makes this relationship stick.
When our second daughter, Sadie, arrived to join her big sister, Maggie, I felt overjoyed knowing the gift that sisterhood brings. I fast forwarded immediately, the three of us shopping on Saturdays, touring the Bay like our mom did with us. I conjured up images of manicures, sleepover parties, borrowed clothes, tea parties, matching dresses. My rose colored glasses were a permanent part of my wardrobe. All I wished for was to have them find the same kinship in each other that Katie and I have found and maybe, miss all the scrapping along the way.
They are 4 and 5 (almost 6) now and for the most part they are great buddies. They have their moments and at times, little Sades is out shadowed by her more boisterous big sis but they have more good times than bad. Wth 3 monkeys in our home, Chad often draws Ty`s straw and I take the girls as a little pack. It never dawned on me until recently, how much these early years of togetherness has impacted my lttle duo.
The frst day of school came and went and everyone was ready for what came. Ty was an eager and confident lttle man as he entered his new grade 3 classroom. Mags was more than ready for full days, greater expectations and more learning. Sadie was back to Debbie`s 3 days a week and preschool the other 2. She was ecstatic to be starting down the path her brother and sister had travelled. I left her in the morning and she was thrilled to be big girl. When I picked her up, it was a shaky and sad liittle baby that greeted me. She sat curled up on Debbie`s lap, whimpering and defeated. She missed her Maggie. All day, they told me, she had seemed lost without her big sis. I never stopped to think that they do EVERYTHING together. We do the girl stuff and dad does the boy stuff, most times at least. They spent their summer inseperable even at bed as they would turn in to their big bunks.
The other night, Mags and Ty slept at Grandma and Papa`s. Sadie always chooses me over sleep overs, where I am, she is. I tucked her in only to hear her sobbing a few minutes later. I went to her and through runny nose and heaving chest, she choked out that she was lonely without her sister laying in the bed above her. She confessed that every night, after I leave them alone, Maggie teaches Sadie the alphabet and sings her the alphabet song in the darkness with only Tommy Turtle shining the light. It was heartbreaking to see her like this and so we called Miss Maggie. I listened to their little banter where Mags jumped into mother mode and soothed her sister by singing the song over the phone. I don`t know if my heart has ever swelled that much.
It looks lke my wishes are coming true and despite their daily minor battles over dolls or dresses, they are forging a bond that will last a lifetime. Having 2 daughters is just as I`d imagined.
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