Precious Moments

There are times when my children are so sweet and loving to each other and then there are times when they could kill one another. I know it is the whole sibling thing, that is what they are suppose to do, but jeez, I feel like I'm on a roller coaster most nights.

Ella has been funny voicing her opinions lately. Saturday night, she decided she wanted to sleep in Tanner's bed. Usually, I can talk her out of it and she will go to sleep with me rocking her in the recliner and then put to bed. Saturday, was a whole different story. She wanted to sleep with her brother and there was no way around it. I asked Tanner if it would be alright for his sister to sleep with him. He reluctantly agreed. So we said "Amen" and kissed both kids goodnight. My arms felt empty for the first time in a long time. I have always put Ella to bed at night and after two years it was kind of hard, but nice. 30 minutes later I go in to Tanner's room to see if they are asleep. No, Ella won't hush. I guess she is so excited that she gets to sleep with her brother that she hasn't gotten still or quiet to go to bed. I have to tell her to get quiet and go to sleep. "K Mom" Go back in 30 minutes later and they are both sound asleep. I noticed Tanner holding her hand. That made my heart melt. Next morning we get up and as I'm fixing breakfast I asked Tanner how sleeping with his sister went. "Fine", his standard reply to EVERYTHING. No elaboration just "Fine." I asked if she finally got still and he said "Yea. But I had to hold her hand before she would go to sleep." I told him he was an awesome brother for letting his little sister sleep with him. So, now, she starts off in Tanner's bed, but quickly winds up in my lap to be rocked to sleep. That time by far is my favorite time of day.

As I was typing that, I was trying to think back on my childhood memories wondering if I ever slept with my sister. I can honestly say I didn't. But that didn't mean my sister didn't torment me or we didn't have fun when I was little. One of my favorite memories is the first Christmas she came home from college. We moved to Clarendon the summer before she went to college, so having her home was a big thing for me. I had my sister back. For me, moving that time without her being there was hard. She was the one who I had moved with lots of times and we shared our experiences together. Anyway, the first night home, she and I laughed and stayed up late. We were mostly laughing because as a Sophomore in high school, I was balancing her checkbook. That night, I guess it was around 3AM, my mom comes in the kitchen and tells us to get quiet and go to sleep. We were both in our own beds, in our own rooms laughing and talking and keeping mom and dad awake. We started giggling histerically because we had heard mom say many many times, "Girls, get quiet and go to sleep" I remember going to bed that night realizing how much my sister meant to me and what having her home meant. I hope that one day my kids will be able to have memories similar to that.