It's the most wonderful time of the....STOP HITTING YOUR SISTER OR I AM CALLING SANTA AND NOBODY IS GETTING PRESENTS! In our house this is something that is happening everyday around this time of year. I love Christmas time but sometimes the togetherness can be too much togetherness. If my kids are together for too long there is always fighting. During the holiday season I become part magic maker and part referee. Between the shopping, wrapping, decorating, baking, and all the other Christmas tasks my kids are constantly fighting with each other. I also have to add yelling, time outs, toys taking, grounding, and disciplining to my list of things to do during Christmas break.
I love having my girls home for three weeks during the winter break. When they are at school all day I don't always get to know what is going on. Since I've been working this year I have missed out on a lot of night time dinner conversations. I plan on using these whole three weeks to catch up on all their stories and school friends gossip. Being involved in my girls lives is really important to me. I honestly do want to know everything that is happening in their lives. To some people that may seem crazy but when my girls are away from me all I want to know is what they did all day.
My girls have been playing so well together lately. I am hoping and praying that this lovely closeness continues on through the next three weeks. When you have more than one kid their play time is always like a ticking time bomb. The whole situation can go from intense giggling and laughing to uncontrollable screaming and crying in a matter of seconds. If I hear the sweetness of my girls chuckling upstairs over barbies or coloring I sometimes hold my breath and hope it lasts. However, I'm fully prepared for the moment that it turns ugly. Then I hear "Mom! She hit me." or "Mom! She took my toy." and I grab my referee hat. A lot of times I just yell back "Be Kind!" or "Be Nice to your Sister!" Honestly they need to learn to work it out but as mom the fighting is hard to watch.
Working it out is something that most adults don't even know how to do. It is not something that is easily taught. Siblings are wonderful on the job training for how to resolve disagreements. Many times I pretend that I can't hear my girls when they are screaming because they need to learn to work it out. Many times I leave the room when my girls are fake crying because they need to learn to work it out. Many times I put on my headphones to drown out the fighting because they need to learn to work it out. As a mom this goes against most of my natural impulses. However, I know if my girls can learn to resolve disagreements with each other it will prepare them much better for arguments in the real world.
Togetherness causing fights is a fact of life. People need to be with other people but sometimes those people get really irritating. When it comes to family, especially if you have a big one, you have a lot more people that love you but also a lot more people to get on your nerves. Siblings are the best ones that know what your buttons are and how to push them. I tell my girls all the time "If you can learn to get along with your sisters then you can learn to get along with anyone." Siblings might get on your nerves but they are also the first ones to be in your corner if anyone else is against you. As a pack my girls are going to be a force to be reckoned with as long as they don't kill each other first. Togetherness doesn't last for ever and what doesn't kill us makes us stronger.
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