Lately I've been thinking a lot about what it means to be a big sister. I grew up with a younger sister, and I'm sure she would tell you that I was a bit bossy at times. However, watching Kaley and Connor has really opened my eyes to how this kind of behavior develops.
When Kaley first met her new baby brother all she could say was "tiny baby, tiny baby". After a couple weeks at home she would greet him in the morning with "Wake up tiny! It's morning!" Since then Connor has been included in many of Kaley's daily narratives. Only recently has she begun truly bossing her brother around. This most likely has something to do with Connor learning to crawl.
Once the passive onlooker, he finally has the ability to impact Kaley's orderly world. Apparently all of Kaley's toys, strewn across the living room floor, have a purpose and are part of a grand scheme. Each doll or stuffed animal is given a bed or a snack. Other miscellaneous toys are labeled as dirty laundry, trash or dirty dishes that she must "wash". Items are stashed in purses and bags to become a "sack lunch" for her "trip to the zoo" or presents to be "mailed".
Enter Connor Stephen. He's been rocking back and forth for weeks, revving up his engine and getting his crawl in gear. Finally he's off to the races. No item is left unscathed. Drool drips from all the toys he touches, beds are overturned, "snacks" stolen, train track demolished, towers of blocks come crashing down. What she has he wants and what he has she wants. It seems they are never content with what they each have in hand. "Nooooooo Connor!" Is what I hear shrieked from the living room. Recently she has added "Get him! Get him! Pick him up" as a plea for little brother containment. I've seen her rake her most precious toys into a pile and sit on them, trying to shield them from the onslaught.
Well, this is my lot. I am being inducted into the league of referees. I need wisdom and patience from heaven. In the end I still conclude that these are the best years of my life and being at home with my kids is a grand adventure, one that I would not trade.
Loved this my dear oldest daughter! I have always said that you were not raised in the same family that Emily was! You had a younger sister and she had an older one! There is a heap of difference in those two families!!!
ReplyDeleteI am sure you will know how to weather all the squabbles! And when you think you can't just steal away and say a prayer that God will change the spirit in the place! He can do it in the blink of an eye!
Having a mother that can actually relate to what her children are living makes her a very special mother indeed. Thanks for recording this for the rest of us to enjoy Shelly!
ReplyDeleteHow well, I remember Mothering those days! Amy broke or chewed up almost everything in site. JL got her back one day (although she didn't know it), somehow he found my scissors and cut up her Sabbath dress!
ReplyDeleteOf course, there is the famous story about the time Ruthe cut off Connie's pigtail! I watched in horror!
Enjoy, enjoy! Great Grand Aunt Laura