A kiss of love? Oh yes. Haylee Jae, commonly called HayJae, adores her baby sister, Kinsey Marie. Sometimes.
Other times HayJae is annoyed with Kinsey. She doesn't like to share with her. Share? What does a four-month-old baby need from a two-year-old sister? Well, that's the problem. Nothing really. But Haylee Jae doesn't want to share Mommy, or Daddy, or Drahma (as she affectionately calls me). HayJae wants the spotlight. It's okay for someone to hold Kinsey for a little while. It's okay to feed her, most of the time. It's okay to change her and bathe her. But often HayJae wants her peeps (people of importance) all to herself.
"Watch me! Watch me!" she begs as she tumbles on the floor. "Sit here. Sit here," she instructs as she points to a spot on the floor next to her. "Dance with me, Drahma. Stand up and dance," she beckons as she twirls around and holds out her hands. "Wanna watch Veggie Tales?" she queries with excitement. "Let's go! C'mon Drahma," she begs as she heads for her mom's bedroom. (Gotta get Grama away from the rest of the household.)
HayJae is not the only person in the family. Kinsey is not the only rival for mommy's time, daddy's attention, grama's love. HayJae has two elder brothers--one almost 16, the other nearly 14. HayJae's also got a big sister who is married and lives in Alaska. In March HayJae will fly up there with her mom. There's a new baby on the way. And we have no idea how HayJae will react to sharing Sissie. So HayJae must share all the time. Everyone must. And it's not always easy. There are times when it's nearly impossible to change a diaper, catch a toddler climbing on the changing table, answer a phone and remain patient, loving and kind.
I told my daughter the other day that HayJae told me, "Don't feed Kinsey Marie." She hadn't had me all to herself to play for several days. And whenever I babysat (which is often) Kinsey was awake and needed all the attention--actually demanded all the attention. She's too little to share. My wise daughter said, "Yeah, I know. Haylee tells me all the time she don't want Kinsey. But I just keep telling her, Kinsey's not going anywhere. She's here to stay. And we must share."
Haylee accepts that explanation most days, most times. But there are times when her sibling love rests solely in the future. And it's only just begun. [copyrighted, SelahV,2007]
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