Mallory was invited for a sleepover tonight; this morning, as she was packing her suitcase, Phoebe came in and said, "Me too!" When Chris found her suitcase, and gently told her that she wasn't invited to the sleepover, she cried for an hour.
I think I'll always have a special sort of sympathy for Phoebe, my second child, because I was the second child too*. (And it's odd, because although I have younger siblings as well, I always think of myself as a little sister, or as the younger older sister, if that makes sense. I think that's because Jana, my big sister, was so good at being the oldest, responsible and, uh, authoritarian, and I am, well, fundamentally irresponsible. We all bowed to her! In a good way. I could never live up to that.) I often feel sorry for Phoebe, left behind while Mallory goes to school all day, because I well remember the long, lonely boring days I spent waiting for Jana to come home from school (not counting the days I spent playing in her room and eating her secret stash of candy. Which was a really bad idea, by the way).
But, because I do have a point in here somewhere, I was especially sympathetic about Phoebe's sleepover sorrow, because I also remember the first time Jana went off on a sleepover. I was devastated, I was so upset. My mom promised me that, as a consolation, we'd do something special together. All day long I waited, and somehow I managed to convince myself that what we were going to do was to build a dollhouse together. As it turned out, we made banana pudding. Which may not have been quite as exciting as a dollhouse, but let me tell you this -- every time I see a box of vanilla wafers, I remember that banana pudding, and how my mom made me feel better about being the little sister.**
*This reminds me that my grandmother always told me that she always felt a special bond with me because I was the middle child. But my grandmother was the oldest child in her family.
**This is one of those stories that sounded good in my head but kind of fell apart in the typing. I could spend the time to make it better but I think I'll go to bed. Or do something else because there are no children in my house tonight! Because Phoebe got a sleepover after all, at Chris's parent's house. But I thought adding that would spoil the whole banana pudding thing, because as it turned out, it wasn't ME who helped her feel better about missing the sleepover, it was her grandparents. If I was a better writer I'd have made all this much more seamless. I wonder if there are any vanilla wafers in the house right now.***
***There are! But they're very stale. Sigh.
I think I'll always have a special sort of sympathy for Phoebe, my second child, because I was the second child too*. (And it's odd, because although I have younger siblings as well, I always think of myself as a little sister, or as the younger older sister, if that makes sense. I think that's because Jana, my big sister, was so good at being the oldest, responsible and, uh, authoritarian, and I am, well, fundamentally irresponsible. We all bowed to her! In a good way. I could never live up to that.) I often feel sorry for Phoebe, left behind while Mallory goes to school all day, because I well remember the long, lonely boring days I spent waiting for Jana to come home from school (not counting the days I spent playing in her room and eating her secret stash of candy. Which was a really bad idea, by the way).
But, because I do have a point in here somewhere, I was especially sympathetic about Phoebe's sleepover sorrow, because I also remember the first time Jana went off on a sleepover. I was devastated, I was so upset. My mom promised me that, as a consolation, we'd do something special together. All day long I waited, and somehow I managed to convince myself that what we were going to do was to build a dollhouse together. As it turned out, we made banana pudding. Which may not have been quite as exciting as a dollhouse, but let me tell you this -- every time I see a box of vanilla wafers, I remember that banana pudding, and how my mom made me feel better about being the little sister.**
*This reminds me that my grandmother always told me that she always felt a special bond with me because I was the middle child. But my grandmother was the oldest child in her family.
**This is one of those stories that sounded good in my head but kind of fell apart in the typing. I could spend the time to make it better but I think I'll go to bed. Or do something else because there are no children in my house tonight! Because Phoebe got a sleepover after all, at Chris's parent's house. But I thought adding that would spoil the whole banana pudding thing, because as it turned out, it wasn't ME who helped her feel better about missing the sleepover, it was her grandparents. If I was a better writer I'd have made all this much more seamless. I wonder if there are any vanilla wafers in the house right now.***
***There are! But they're very stale. Sigh.
Comments
I think it strange that grandma said that. But she always did feel you and Jana were special and the rest of us were just ordinary.
(you know I will never forget that or stop feeling bitter about that) :)
I have never figured out why Mother said that either as she was the oldest by six or seven years. And I hope that I never say that any of my grandchildren are more special than any other. If I do, you have my permission to kick me you know where! All of mine are special to me and I hope that they all know that. Just as all of my chldren are special to me even though I think all of you thought that Jana was the favorite - Aimee and Casey especially!
Mom