sisterly love

We've had a bit of a challenge with sibling rivalry lately. Actually, I don't know if sibling rivalry is the right word for it, but I'm not sure how else to put it. In a nutshell, the 10 year old is merciless in picking on her younger sister. I think as Tess, who is 7, has grown more independent as an individual, her sister is feeling a little bit threatened, like maybe she isn't the queen bee in the family after all. And while I'm the first to admit that little sisters can be endlessly annoying, there are certain things that just can't be tolerated. Like physical violence. The problem up to this point has been that the only reports we've had of these episodes are the exaggerated versions of the victim ("She hit me; she punched me; she's trying to kill me.")

So yesterday, when I actually had occasion to witness Sydney snap the end of a pair of pants across the room to smack her sister, I finally got my chance to institute some consequences. Syd lost TV privileges for the day, and Tess, finally having been vindicated, was sweetly sympathetic to her poor sister's plight and even admitted -- a little -- to having some role in provoking the "attack." Ah, sisterhood.

Of course the physical actions are not all I'm hoping will change. I do want my girls to be friends, although I realize that may be a long time coming. We still have the teen years to endure, after all.

In any case, by last night they were getting along well and Tess even gave up her own interest in TV to join her exiled sister, who was scrapbooking in the playroom. Tess found a nice picture of the two of them from a couple of years ago and pasted it on a page and brought it to me to display her work. Across the top was a handwritten title, "Sisterly Love for 1 Second." Sydney did not appreciate the humor in this, but I had to laugh. In this hostile environment, you've got to get your chuckles where you can.