Lost tooth #2 last night, and he was just giddy with excitement.Meanwhile, I glare over at Saia, who is snootily bragging to him about how she's already lost two teeth of her own and is now frantically trying to yank out a third... with both hands... and a pair of pliers.
Finally convince her, through gritted teeth, to say 'congratulations' to him, and am suddenly overwhelmed by this sense of dread over this burgeoning and unstoppable sibling rivalry for (at least) the next 12 years of my life. And you wouldn't think so, from looking at them, that they have any reason to compete with one another. They're just complete opposites in all they do, in how they think, in their innate mode of functioning. But, man, it's just exhausting trying to keep them from one-upping each other every single second of every single day.
And the worst part of it all is that I do realize that this truly is just the tip of the iceberg. That it has the potential, especially because they're twins and will likely share common friends, teachers, etc., to be really really awful. And I just think maybe I need to start putting together an emergency plan of action now.
[Oh, and, by the way, somewhere around midnight, I was finally able to unearth a piggy bank from somewhere beneath Newspaper and Bubble Wrap Mountain, and managed to squeeze out four quarters for the toothfairy, who, by the way, only really travels with plastic these days and, who, by the way, really does prefer it that way. Except, of course, in moments of lost teeth. And parking meters.]
2 comments:
I hear ya about the competition! Bean has 11 year old sisters who are fraternal twins and at Saia and Chago's age they would count the number of Cheerios they each had to make sure they were equal. Last Xmas we thought they were certainly old enough to understand that they are different people with different interests and talents and we decided to give them DIFFERENT gifts that each would enjoy more than if we'd had to find a middle ground and give them both the same thing in different colors. For a decade the whole family had given them identical gifts so they wouldn't be jealous. Or they give something saying it is for both girls, but we know only one girl will truly enjoy it and the other will feel left out, like a video game console or a karaoke machine. At Xmas we gave one girl a guitar for her big gift ane one girl a whole set of things ( a glittery butterfly lamp, a cool throw blanket, a bulletin board, etc.) to decorate her room with, both very appropriate gifts for the girl who received them. I think it is fine now but initially the girl who got the bedroom stuff was jealous of the guitar and asked if she might have one for her birthday. By the birthday she didn't seem at all interested in having a guitar, but we went back to similar but different presents. Bean made them each an automaton out of wood, of course, each girl got her favorite animal..a horse and a penguin. *rolls eyes* It will never end.
I was thinking about what you said with your kids being in the same school, same friends, same teachers, etc. Maybe it will be easier for them because in elementary school kids tend to really keep with friends in their own gender. Maybe I'm being naive. :) Bean's sisters were put in different classrooms in elementary which helped to keep the more social (and also extremely bossy ;)) twin from overriding the quieter twin. It also kinda helped with the quieter twin's independence. Last school year both twins HAD to be in the same classroom because only one 5th grade class room in their school is designated for talented and gifted kids. OMG, it was hell. Oh yeah, and their MOM was their teacher. The kids immediately labeled them the "fat" twin and the "skinny" twin although a few years ago the "skinny" twin was actually the chubbier of the two. It breaks my heart. We try to encourage the idea that "You are sisters, you need to stick together, you don't gang up on each other" but the "skinny" twin is so afraid of losing her newfound popularity with the cool kids that she makes a point to publicly tease her sister and let it slip how much her sister weighs and eats. I can't tell you how much time Bean and I spend discussing and brainstorming about this...it is so worrisome. Hopefully you will be spared this type of competition with your kids. As for the next twelve years, good luck! ~Susan
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