Ah, Happy New Year!
New year. New me. New haircut. New challenges. New schedule. New goals. New....baby!
My sister had her baby!
Oh it is so fun to be this close to a pregnancy without being pregnant! I love all my babies, and I don't mind many parts of pregnancy, and honestly...I LOVE giving birth, but watching my sister go through it was a pure joy.
Charlotte Jane was born almost a week ago and it has been so exciting! I was able to go and stay with my sister for a night and help her care for the baby--burping and diapering and cuddling. Oh so sweet to hold a new baby! She is so tiny--even though she is 21 inches long. She snuggles into you and is so soft and delicate. She has beautiful eyes that stare at you and then find their way to mom. Her hair is perfect--soft and fluffy. But her best feature is her disposition. She is so calm and quiet. She fusses every now and then but not for long almost as if to say, "Oh, well, I guess I'm alright. I'll cry about it another time but I'm done now."
My sister is holding up all right. Every day gets a little better even as new challenges present themselves. And she and her husband are so good they will make it through sleep deprivation together just fine. There have been some tough days. Days with tears and frustrations and help needed. Times when I couldn't escape my own kids and High School orientation (?!!) and play practice, and homework.
One night I threw together the ability to go visit after a very hectic (late) school day and as I drove to see my sister to help, and we cried together about all that darn nursing stuff that is so much more difficult that you realize until the time comes, I thought about how much I LOVE my sisters. We are all such good friends. We would do anything for each other. We share each other's joys and triumphs and each other's sorrows and pains and frustrations. They are the ones I want to hang out with the most. Going to dinner, talking at Mom's house, planning a retreat, sharing the gospel, they are my best friends. No other friends know me as well as my sisters.
And my next thought was, "I hope my daughters can have that with each other somed...."
I started to say, "someday" in my mind. But someday is NOT what I want for them. When they argue and nit pick over ever thing from elbow room to who sits where to how exactly someone is allowed to use an accent when playing the Harry Potter/Star Wars/Pixie Hollow/Winnie the Pooh crossover, I really wish they could be so close NOW. The world around them is getting so harsh. Popular images of families show discord among siblings. And friends will come and go for the rest of their lives (especially if we keep living in DC area where all the military and state department families come and stay for 1-4 years and leave giving us at least one broken-hearted daughter a summer whose 'best friend' has moved away. again).
They need each other now. And frankly they are stuck with each other so they might as well learn to like it. 'Cause I know in the end, they will! I need to show them specifics of how great it is to be friends with your sisters. "I'm so happy today because my sister got a new job!! I get to share in her excitement. I hope you guys will always be good friends and share in each others' happiness!" "Do you see how sad I am? It is because my sister is sad and I don't know how to help her, but I love her, so I called to tell her that and I got to comfort my sister. I hope you guys will comfort each other too. Sisters are the best friends in the world!" "I'm went out to eat with my sisters and we had the best time together. I hope you guys like doing things together too."
If I knew all of my daughters will be friends and will stay friends in their adult years, most of my worries would be gone.
