Sisters

Sisters--they love each other, they hate each other and they LOVE to hate each other. Now that I am a mom I am changing my perspective on sisters (in some ways). You see, I am the baby of the family with two older sisters. Growing up I looked up to my sisters and wanted to be just like them (look, act, talk, and go places). At the time, I had no idea why this sometimes annoyed them and why they sometimes didn't want me around. I mean I did everything they asked me to and heck I was cute, fun, funny, and very cool, the PERFECT little sister! But, now looking at my two girls I see why sometimes Lexi just wants Gracie to leave her alone. Sure Gracie, like me, is cute, fun, funny, very cool, and does everything Lexi tells her to (most of the time), but (and this is the part my eyes have been opened up to) she also messes up her forts, doesn't understand rules to games, takes her stuff, cannot come up with her own ideas and can be a real pest. I feel for Lexi sometimes and sometimes I intervene and make Gracie leave her alone, but then sometimes I tell them to work it out between the two of them. (I admit sometimes, if it's not serious, I also look the other way when they are hitting each other. My sisters and I did a lot of smacking growing up and we still love each other. It makes them tough, right?) Anyways, enough about bad parenting.....back to the topic. I haven't come all the way over to the older sister side (the dark side) of things, I find myself getting really mad at Lexi when I hear her say things like, "Grace let's pretend that beautiful necklace you're wearing is mine, so you should give it to me" (and Gracie does) or when Lexi makes Grace get her things just because she doesn't want to get up and get it herself and she knows she controls Grace like a puppet (at times). I know, that's how it is with sisters but I hope to instill a certain amount of respect in them for each other and pray that they grow up to not be best friends (that would be a bonus) but great friends and feel blessed for having shared this beginning part of their life so closely with each other.