Tag: sibling rivalry

Oh, Sister!

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You would think that I would not be surprised by anything that my kids say or do anymore. Over the years I have heard many interesting things from my children but this, well, this caught me off guard.

David came into the living room recently and plopped himself down in the chair. He then assumed the nine-year-old boy sitting position, which consists of slouching sideways and draping one leg over the arm of the chair. The conversation began casually enough with small talk about his youngest brother Andrew and how big he is getting, questions about when football will start and can we learn more about airplanes this year. Then he dropped the bomb, “Have you and Dad ever thought about adopting more kids?” I tried not to let it show how stunned I was. “Well, no, not really,” I stammered, “why?”

One thing that I have learned over the years is that it is best to find out why before answering any question like that one. Of course, I learned this the hard way by answering questions that I thought they were asking only to see a stunned look on their face as I spoke. Therefore, rather than embarrass myself and give more information than they are asking for I started to ask why they want to know.

“I think we should have another little sister,” he replied. Now I am intrigued, and a little suspicious, why would he want another little sister? David and William had recently completed a “boys only” clubhouse and would not even tell Jacquie where it was. He felt sorry for her, he continued, she has one big sister but Maggie is 19 and living on her own in another state. So, that leaves Jacquie with two big brothers and two little brothers. She gets her own room so that is some consolation but playtime is not as fun for her as it is for them. David seemed to think that if she had a sister then it would be more fun for her. They could play dolls and dress-up and that would make her happy. I was beginning to think that his motives were truly altruistic.

“Plus, then we wouldn’t have to play with her,” he said. I should have known!