Sister Love

Norah has been sleeping in her bed all night; thanks to a sticker chart where she can win prizes every time she acquires 10 stickers.

When Norah snuck in bed with us, she would cuddle close, hoping not to be discovered. I would wake up sometimes in the night and not even realize I had been spooning her. Now, she stays curled up on her own bed - dreaming of new books, pretty hair clips, a trip to the zoo.

Avery, though, has started to pick up where her sister left off. I hear the creaking of her bed when she sits up at 1:00am. "Mama!" Then, she stomps ever so loudly into our room, announcing, "I want to come in your bed!" Not exactly unobtrusive, but hey, that's Avery. Last night, I said, "Avery, why don't you go back to your bed?" If it had been Norah, she would have dreamily ignored me, gracefully slipping herself into the covers at the edge of the bed. Avery, though, turned back around and ran back into her room, screaming as she went. After a few minutes, all fell silent.

When I went in this morning, Avery was not in her bed. I looked all around, and then, I saw her. She was tucked in tight, cuddled next to her sister. Both were sleeping under a heaping, fuzzy, pink blanket - two mops of hair peaking out. "Time for breakfast," I said, as I rubbed their backs. "Avery," Norah said, "lets stay in here and cuddle instead." As they walked out to breakfast, Norah stubbed her toe on the wall. Avery asked, "Norah, are you ok?" and then said, "come here, it's alright" as she hugged her. They even requested to sit next to each other at breakfast giggling through spoonfuls of cheerios.

By the time they were leaving for school sisterly bliss had ended. They were already in a screaming match over Cinderella Barbie. "It's mine" and "no it's mine." But, whatever, I know they love each other. I remember turning to say, "did you see that?" even when my sister wasn't there. Whispering to each other at bedtime, until our mom yelled up the stairs, "girls!!!" Hauling off to yell or hit her, but firing off double that rage if someone else ever laid a hand on her. Teaching her everything from how to write in cursive to how to get out of being grounded. Clinging to each other when our parents fought, divorced, re-married.

As an adult, I'll still crawl in bed with my sister anytime we're together. I hope this is the beginning of a long standing tradition for my girls, too.