Sisters

I'm sure there are things to be said for being an only child. No competition for parental attention is the one that comes most readily to mind. (The flip side of this is the amount of attention that IS focused on you and the high expectations that follow.) But only children can never fully understand the relationship between siblings. And an only child who becomes the mother of several children watches with some degree of bewilderment those relationships. There seems to be a constant ebb and flow. The same toddlers who are playing happily on the floor with a set of blocks can be ripping (literally) hair from each other's heads the next instant. The same girls giggling in secret in a bedroom late one night may not be speaking to each other the next day. The mature composure of a child displayed in public--in school, say--may vanish during conflict with a brother or sister and leave one shrieking and chasing the other with intent to do grave bodily harm. But all that is a part of forming life-long relationships. "Bonding" is an over-used term, but I can't think of another to use to describe what happens between two people who share not only genetics but common early experiences. And I am envious! I have had close friendships in my life, but never had a friend who not only knew my secrets, but shared them; who spoke a common language and had a common ritual. What a joy that must be!