Wednesday, April 6, 2011

The life of a little sister (in 34 seconds)

As a firstborn myself, I admit that I didn't have much empathy for the plight of the little sister, until I had a second daughter of my own. Now, as I watch my poor secondborn toddle through life in the shadow of her scene-stealing big sis, I feel a kinship with little sisters everywhere.

Little sisters, I totally get it now. You have every toy snatched away, every quiet moment interrupted, and every milestone upstaged. Everything you can do, big sister does bigger and better. And she doesn't miss an opportunity to demonstrate this fact to the world. And yet, you keep on trucking, quietly winning people over with charm, dimples, and sheer dogged determination.

This 34-second video shows the dynamic on a very small scale. The life of a little sister: you really, really want to do something (like go down a slide). Your big sister, then all of her friends, nearly fall over themselves trying to get past you so they can do it first. You don't mind; in fact, this jostling is your idea of fun. Anything to feel like a big kid!

After waiting patiently, you finally get your turn. You enjoy it immensely, mostly because for a brief moment you are allowed to do something without being knocked down, pinched, poked, shoved, or steamrolled.

Then you stand perfectly still and look all around to make sure said sister doesn't clothesline you in her excitement to get back to the slide before you do. (Note the crazy jump B throws in at the end--an extra measure to divert any undue attention from Mia.) And the whole scene starts over.



To my three little sisters, Laura, Kendra, and Sarah: what can I say? Without big sisters to stand in their way, little sisters wouldn't be the tenacious, clever, durable creatures they are. You're welcome.

P.S. Sorry for the sideways vid. Making a mental note to work on my phone-video technique.

1 comment:

Kora said...

That was such a cute post :).