It has been such an experience witnessing Sophie and Charlotte growing up together (for those not aware, Sophie is Charlotte's youngest cousin 6 months younger than herself) They are both extremely 'old' children with the wisdom of 4 older siblings overlaying all that they do. Watching the games they play and the way they interact is pure gold.
It is common for me to have Sophie here for a day, as Rachel gallivants around the place, doing lunch and revelling in massages. Today she made her eldest wag school. Those poor children :p
Charlotte, before we headed off to school this morning, had collected about 8 sticks of assorted lengths, that had blown down in yesterdays winds. She had them all laid out ready to play the 'stick game' with Sophie. Sounds like fun, huh? Two 3 year olds and enough sticks for
everyone to lose an eye!
So, we all agreed on a few ground rules - sticks must stay below our elbows, sticks must always point at the ground and no hurting each other! Of course, within minutes of the 'stick game' starting, Sophie had a scratch right near her eye. Unintentional on Charlotte's behalf, so a cautious hug rectified the tears. (hugs are always cautious between these two, as it is fairly common for the wounded one to turn on the other one and lash right back at them, even if the incident was accidental, and the attcker was genuinely remorseful)
So, I was lsitening for them, as I was doing housework, and they were chatting away ion the driveway, then I here them running to the back door and they both invited me out to watch the show. The sticks were now balancing beams, as an intricate winding pattern was laid out all over the driveway. The started with the obligatory 'Ladies and Gentlemen' and then they giggled their way ofrom start to finish, with much cheering on completion.
They then went on to something else - creating an obstacle course - after watching them clamber over two chairs placed back to back on our concrete path, I suggested that they put the chairs on the lawn, as I could see what was coming, with all that excitement.
We had a lot of rain yesterday, so the chairs sunk nice and deep and tight into the back lawn, so they clambered over these back and forwards. Not long after, they came galloping inside to collect assorted dolls and books and back outside to set up this.
Theirs is a pretty fiery relationship. They always want to be at each others house, or in each others company, but gosh! they are volatile. It can be very very wearing having the two of them together. They are like a finely tuned slapstick routine at times, you can see that the sideways glare from one is enough to set up the domino effect for the rest of the day.
Thankfully, the planets were aligned today and there was only one short incident, that I only became aware of because I glanced out the window and saw them both sitting, with arms crossed and scowly faces, far away from each other. No pushing, no yelling. And a quick 'who wants some watermelon?' was enough to break it open.
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