Sunday, April 19, 2009

Good Dog

I've been having an extra amount of problems between Sierra and Mia lately. It seemed that most of it stemmed from Sierra so, in a quiet moment, I tried to get to the heart of the matter.

So I gently said, "Sierra, God made you Mia's sister and that's a special thing. It's so important for you to be the best sister that you can be. I want you to try to be kind and play nice with her. Don't whack her or take her stuff. It's very special to have a sister and so you need to be nice."

During my little speech Sierra started to tear up and I was so satisfied that I had touched her heart and that this could be a turning point in their relationship. (Or at least stop some of the fighting!). After a moment I asked her, "What's wrong Sierra?" Through sniffles and tears she looked at me and said, "I don't want to be a sister..." Oh no! My whole pep talk had taken a terrible turn, now she didn't even want to be a sister. My brain raced trying to think of how to encourage her in her role. All I could do was say, "What?"

"I don't want to be a sister," she repeated, "I want to be a dog!"

Uggg. "Well," I conceded "At least try to be a good dog."

3 comments:

Unknown said...

I'm sure this is due to the fact that I had to compare my pets to your kids for so long before I had kids... :)

Vicki

momaof4 said...

That is TO funny!!!!!
I might have to try that pep talk with the boys sometime...sisters are special!!

Lisa said...

I love it. The honesty of children is priceless...at least when it's not in public in a crowded grocery store. Love you!

Lord, lift me above my own narrow horizons, that I might fulfill your true vision for me. - B.J. Hoff