On raising girls

I have two daughters. Oh. My. Gosh. Yes, this is just dawning on me. I thought about it as I swept the kitchen floors this morning. Two beautiful little girls. Two angelic faces to wake up to in the morning. Two princesses to clothe in pink dresses, take to ballet class, teach to kick a soccer ball. Two sweethearts to paint my toenails with, take shopping, talk to about boys. Two sisters who will, inevitably, have many, many disagreements and fights over the years. Any woman who has a sister or is blessed with two daughters knows what I am talking about. I am going to go out on a limb and say that two or more girls are the hardest to raise. God bless my mother for taking on three of us and managing to mold us into great women who love each other and her.

Do you even remember your teenage years? I do. Allison is three years younger than me. Boy did we used to get on each other's nerves back in the day. I can say that now because we got over it and love each other today. "Why don't you talk to your sister more?" I used to hear from my parents. How could they even ask such a thing! What could I possibly have to say to someone who stole the clothes from my closet, copied the things I did, and was, basically, just doing what a younger sister is supposed to. Why is it that we could pilfer through our best friends' closets, borrowing anything and everything from each other, but God forbid our own sister took something. That was cause for war. Now I am sure there are exceptions to the rules and there are some sisters out there that went through their teenage years confiding about first kisses, boyfriends, fights with Mom and Dad and what not.

"I love Serena, she's my best friend"
"She's so cute and cuddly"
"I'm going to teach Serena to play tag and hide and seek when she gets bigger"
"I'm the big sister. I love my little sister"

These are just a few of the phrases Calli has on repeat about her new baby sister nowadays. I need to record her and play it back for her in a few years when she might be feeling a bit less enthusiastic about her younger sister.

I can only hope my girls will love each other dearly as they grow. But I know most likely in thirteen years time I will hear "Moooooooom, how could you force me to take my sister to school!" I will have to endure the bickering, the hormones running wild, the emotions of these sisters. If they make it out of their teenage years alive I have no doubt they will love each other unconditionally as sisters do. But until then, what have I gotten myself into?