Today my oldest told me that she would take the blame for two of her sisters if they did something wrong. I wasn't sure where this was coming from, but I asked her about her other sister - would she do it for her? Her response, "do I have to?" I said that I would hope that all of us would get to the point that we would make a sacrifice for others in our family, even if they didn't deserve it, because that's being Christlike. She agreed, but maintains her reservations about the sister whose proximity in age (and maybe her occasional obnoxiousness) makes her a rival, of sorts.
Sibling rivalry is a tricky thing. I'm struggling to navigate the contention that inevitably makes its way into our home and I'm finding a few successes along the way. One such came last week.
Both Anna and Lily auditioned for a play at their elementary school. Lily got a part. Anna did not. I wasn't sure how to respond when they both came home - Anna was hard to read - she almost made it seem as if she was better off not doing the play. That way she wouldn't miss swimming on Wednesday, or hanging out with one of her best buddies on Thursday. I had to balance my excitement for Lily's success with my understanding for whatever it was Anna was feeling. I'm pretty sure she was disappointed, but she handled it with such grace. During her turn at family prayer that week, she even offered up a petition for Lily to be blessed to do well in the play. I was truly touched at the class she exhibited.
Lily had loads of fun rehearsing and performing. She was an adorable little sprout in The Secret Garden. We dragged the whole family to see it on Friday night and got some stunning videos of her stuffing gum into her mouth (which she got from who knows where?) and chomping loudly on it in between verses. She even took a spill off the back of the stage at one point. What a crack-up!
I was so proud of my Lily and her hard work and cuteness. And I was equally proud of my Anna and the character she is developing. I love being a mother.
1 comment:
We had basically the exact same experience at our house. It's so tough to watch your kids experience these hard knocks of life...but it's also amazing to see what they do with them. We have good strong kids!
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