With Jack packed off to Hilton Head with my side of the family, Andrew, the girls and I went to Chapel Hill to spend the weekend with his family.
The four little girls (our two and Andrew's sister's two) all had a blast, as usual. There is something about that foursome that just works. Alice and Clara, alone, rarely make it a half of a day without some sort of physical or (because it's what girls do REALLY well) mental battle coming into play. And according to their mother, the cousins are constantly at each others throats during these long, steamy summer days.
But put the four of them together and it is just bliss. No fighting, picking or tormenting. It is all laughing and games and giggles. They share, they respect boundaries. They express their affection physically and with loving banter. They are just happy to be together.
And I usually learn something every time I am with these wonderful children. On Saturday they were all skinny dipping (don't we all love the feel of water on parts where the sun don't shine?), and one girl said to another, "I'm skinny and you have a fat tummy." Now, all four of these girls are lean and gorgeous. One just has a BIT of a pot belly. A remnant of her adorable pudgy toddler body. (Albeit supplemented by a generous helping of her grandfather's delicious blueberry pancakes that morning.)
And even though the offender said something that in her opinion was true, she certainly shouldn't have said it in front of her cousin. But the cousin stopped for a minute, thought about it (I could really see the wheels turning in her pretty little head), and then jumped back into the water and went about her business.
She made a conscious decision that what was said, although potentially hurtful, came from someone who has loved her since she was born. And she was not going to make an issue of it. The history of their relationship was more important than a bruised ego.
Smart, smart girl.
The four little girls (our two and Andrew's sister's two) all had a blast, as usual. There is something about that foursome that just works. Alice and Clara, alone, rarely make it a half of a day without some sort of physical or (because it's what girls do REALLY well) mental battle coming into play. And according to their mother, the cousins are constantly at each others throats during these long, steamy summer days.
But put the four of them together and it is just bliss. No fighting, picking or tormenting. It is all laughing and games and giggles. They share, they respect boundaries. They express their affection physically and with loving banter. They are just happy to be together.
And I usually learn something every time I am with these wonderful children. On Saturday they were all skinny dipping (don't we all love the feel of water on parts where the sun don't shine?), and one girl said to another, "I'm skinny and you have a fat tummy." Now, all four of these girls are lean and gorgeous. One just has a BIT of a pot belly. A remnant of her adorable pudgy toddler body. (Albeit supplemented by a generous helping of her grandfather's delicious blueberry pancakes that morning.)
And even though the offender said something that in her opinion was true, she certainly shouldn't have said it in front of her cousin. But the cousin stopped for a minute, thought about it (I could really see the wheels turning in her pretty little head), and then jumped back into the water and went about her business.
She made a conscious decision that what was said, although potentially hurtful, came from someone who has loved her since she was born. And she was not going to make an issue of it. The history of their relationship was more important than a bruised ego.
Smart, smart girl.
