Friday March 21st, 2008
Walking together, too little to hold hands for very long (the older is responsible, but the younger has other things on her mind), they act independently from each other. Secretly, on the inside, they wouldn’t know what to do if the other wasn’t here.
Hope can barely remember life before her baby sister.
Naomi knows no differently.
Someday they will live life apart, they will attend high school at different times and they will have their own homes. They will have their own children, dogs, and dishes to wash.
But today they walked together, holding hands briefly, a sticky, sweaty toddler hand in a six-year-old hand with fingers that are beginning to slender. The younger follows the older, until the younger becomes impatient and races ahead.
They each want independence in such different ways. The Kindergartner wants to walk alone to her classroom with the older kids, to say Goodbye to me loudly so the other students know she is big enough to walk by herself. My toddler exerts her independence by refusing to hold my hand in a parking lot and trying to crawl under the stall in a public restroom because she doesn’t want to wait. They each want to do things on their own.
But in the end, at the park when Naomi tried to run off to visit a far away tree, Hope yelled for her in a frightened voice, no doubt worrying she wouldn’t come back. And Naomi, as independent as she tries to be, allowed me to pick her up and carry her to the car when we were done, exhausted from running and wanting someone big to hold her.
They will learn to hold hands again, whether they are whispering sisters who giggle in the dark, or they are old ladies who have long ago become the last in the family. Either way, life wouldn’t be the same without the other.
I feel like my big boy is pulling away from us – becomming more independent. I’m not happy about that.
I feel that way with my twin. Gosh, sometimes I just NEED to be my own individual but I wouldn’t be me without being able to say, “I’m a twin.” I’m just half of a whole but a half that needs to be recognized.
Beautiful words, Sarah.
Annie was right, your words are like music.
What a cute picture! You are right about them seperating for a time, but being close when they are older.
I LOVE that picture – it really says it all!
The bond they will have will be so special – the need for someone who loves and knows them better than anyone but yet they are still their own person.
Thanks for sharing your beautiful words once again Sarah!
My kids think they want time apart, but when they have it they keep asking about the other. Even when they fight like cats and dogs, they still prefer to be together.
What a beautifully written post.
Very sweet post. It brought back such tender memories of me and my sisters when we were little girls and gives me hope for the day my son will be toddling around holding the hand of his big sister.
Wonderfully written. I love the bond I see developing between my children. It’s truly amazing!
Awwww.
My daughter is in a hurry to grow up, even though she doesn’t want to give up any of her current size “cute clothes.”
What a sweet and true post on sisters! Bittersweet moments.
BTW, is that a recent photo? I’m envious that they are walking around in short sleeves and shorts! I wouldn’t want to hold their hands either!
They look so BIG! Wow. Beautiful girls, beautiful pictures.
Oh, I could tell you stories about sister-bonding, the type that goes on behind closed doors when the light goes off at night, the type that emerges when someone is hurt or sad. The other day I asked Claire about a girl in her ballet class – “Why did she cry?” And she said, “Olivia is like Courtney, she’s a softie.” And that touched my heart, because it was said sweetly and matter-of-factly… it was a plainspoken way of communicating that she knows her sister so well, accepts her like she is, feels protective, and loves her through it all.
At least, that’s how this Mommy took it!
Sisters are so much fun to raise. Enjoy.