Love Wins Out

I had kept the girls almost all week while their mother was in a class. I love keeping them, don't get me wrong! BUT...they are only 5 and 4 and haven't completely learned the sharing thing. They play well together most of the time. They only jerk things away from each other some of the time. Scratching and hitting are only done by accident. Everything can be explained away, especially if you use 5-year old and 4-year old logic.

"I didn't push her, Nana, she tripped over my foot."
"I SAID I was sorry."
"I didn't throw the doll at her, I tossed it to her, and she didn't catch it right, and that's why it hit her in the head."
"I SAID I was sorry."

Well, you get the drift. By the time their mother comes for them, I'm exhausted. But I know they love each other.

I had taken them with me to the grocery store on Friday. I ignored the "I want that!" and the "please, Nana?" I ignored the one riding on the end of the grocery cart and the one who wanted to ride underneath. (We saw a little boy doing that.) Phew! I just wanted to get the groceries and go home! They tried to outdo each other with all sorts of "cute" tricks. I just wanted to go home with my groceries and try to figure out why I took them to the store in the first place. They weren't bad at all - just talk, talk, talk, yak, yak, yak. Don't they ever shut up?

While waiting in the check-out line, I noticed that Emma was missing! She was standing right THERE a second ago, and now she was gone! I said to Maggie, "Where's your sister?!?" We both whipped around, searching, and then Maggie saw her. She had only moved to the other side of the piled up grocery cart. Whew!!! I was very relieved.

Maggie ran over to her and took Emma's little face in her hands and bent down and kissed her on the forehead. She gave her a hug and cried "We thought we had lost you!" She took Emma's hand and held it all the way out of the store.

I knew then that no matter what happens between them - the "accidental" hurts, the tattling to Mama, the hurt feelings - no matter what, they love each other.

By the time we got to the car, they were fighting over who got to sit in the blue carseat. Sigh.