Mutual Admiration Society
Every afternoon, Maddie and Mommy and Cora
pile into Maddie’s bed and read books together as part of our
naptime routine. After a few books and some prayers, Cora and I
leave Maddie to go to sleep and proceed to Cora’s room to
finish her own nap routine. Usually, Cora’s sleepy enough by
that time that she wants me to carry her to her own room.
Yesterday, though, Cora wanted to walk so she could shut
Maddie’s door, and as she and I crept out of Maddie’s
room Cora turned around to a drowsy Maddie and said, “Wuv
you, Maddie!”
Now, this is part of Maddie’s sleep routine –
whoever’s leaving the room calls out, “I love
you!” and Maddie says “I love you!” back. But
Cora’s never said it before, and you could tell it delighted
Maddie, who sang out, “I love you too, my little
sister!”
Emboldened, Cora said again, “Wuv
you, Maddie!” “I love you, too!” came back once
more. They delighted themselves so much this went on a few more
times before Cora realized her fatigue and cut the adoration short.
It was one of those moments when you wish you had a video camera
running all the time so you could catch such a moment. It was also
one of those moments when you realize that having more than one kid
really is a blessing for more than just you and your spouse.
Yesterday’s exchange is simply one example of a growing
endearment between Maddie and Cora, and frankly it can’t come
soon enough, seeing as how they’ve both got a pretty solid
understanding of those other emotions like Jealousy, Envy,
Selfishness, and Teasing. Both girls seem to enjoy delicately
tormenting the sibling – think “Stop touching
me!” – and I’m relieved to see there’s a
bit of love growing that will hopefully balance the selfish stuff
out.
That same day, Maddie earned the right to go pick out a Thomas
train at the toy store (remember the water thing?), and she was
very excited. Maddie woke up from her nap before Cora did, and I
offered to take Maddie to the store by herself while my mom stayed
home with a sleeping Cora. I thought Maddie would be delighted with
one-on-one time with Mommy.
To my surprise, Maddie turned me down several times. “No,
Mommy, I don’t want to go now, I want to go after
dinner.” “But puppy, if we go now you can go by
yourself.” “I don’t want to go by myself.”
“Wouldn’t you prefer to go without Cora?”
Maddie looked at me in bewilderment. “No, I don’t want
to go without Cora! I want to wait for her. I love my sister and
love spending time with her.”
Thank you, God, that my children love each other, and may I remind
my eldest of her feelings when Cora takes her new train and runs
away with it, Maddie in hot, murderous pursuit.
0 comments:
Post a Comment
House Rules
Here are the rules for posting comments on 1mother2another.com. Posting a comment that violates these rules will result in the comment’s deletion, and you’ll probably be banned from commenting in the future.
1) Register first. If you would like to post a comment, you must create an account with us. Check out the home page to do so.
2) Constructive comments only. If you cannot maintain a respectful tone in your posting, even in disagreement, your comment will be deleted. We’re all trying to find our way in this thing and are struggling to be the best moms we can. If you disagree with something I say, feel free to politely email me. If you disagree with another reader’s posting, you’re welcome to kindly post in reply. Vitriolic diatribes will be deleted. This site is about encouraging and supporting, not tearing down and chastising.
3) Questions welcomed. If an entry raises a question, you’re welcome to email me directly or post it. Keep in mind that postings will result in public replies by strangers and not just me.
4) Don’t steal. All original writings contained within this website are under copyright protection. If you link to us, please credit us as your source and provide a link back to our website. If you're interested in using an excerpt in published material, please contact us.
5) Share your photos! We'd love to have photos from our registered readers to show on our home page under "Maddie's friends". Email us a jpeg of your little one's best photo to photos@1mother2another.com. Please, no photos from professional photographers which fall under copyright protection.