Competition

My girls are pretty good about sharing.

They seem to understand that they have to share the things in the house, they have to share my time and my attention.

But they're both really good at finding ways to ensure that they get as much attention as possible.

This morning, Alyssa was complaining that the waistband of her pants was just a little too big.

I asked her if the pants felt as if they were falling off and she said no. I told her to put on her shirt and see how it felt.

Feeling left out, Olivia, who'd been dressed for fifteen minutes without a complaint, said, quite loudly, "My tights are...they're...too stripey!"

Because, well, if her sister was going to get attention by comlaining then, by God, Olivia was going to get attention that way too. Even if 'too stripey' was the only complaint she could come up with.

And, for the record, Alyssa wore the pants with the slightly big waistband and Olivia wore the tights that were too stripey.

I get this. I do.

I understand that we all want to be the center of attention, even if only the center of our mother's attention.

I also love the both girls understand that her sister is there, always and forever, and that each must share her time with me.

They're good together.

Alyssa's very protective of her little sister who is just a little weaker than other kids her age.

Olivia is very proud of her big sister, who is so pretty and kind smart.

I love that they love each other.

And I know how lucky they are to have ach other. I hope they both know that too.

Yes, yes, the teenage years are going to be tough, with slamming doors and yelling and probably a lot of, "Moooom, make her get out of my room!" And, "She wore my sweater without asking."

But bring it on. I'm not quite ready, but perhaps in the years it will take us to get to those teenage years, I'll get ready and be able to navigate the mood swings, the hurt feelings and the drama queens.

And I pray we'll all survive with our love for each other and our senses of humor intact.