Well I Thought It Would Never Happen But......

Peanut has finally, finally, learned to tie her shoes! . I'd put off teaching her for way too long. I had it on my summer To Do list but what with wearing mostly sandals in the summer, the tennis shoes had gotten pushed back to the dark corner of the closet and forgotten about. Well OK, that and the fact that my summer To Do list wasn't an actual list so much as an assortment of grandiose ideas floating around in my head. But this is one time I'm really glad I didn't get around to doing something myself, because this morning, my husband and I got to overhear bits of this conversation from the girls' room:

Peanut: Sissy, could you help me tie my shoes?

Sissy: Look, it's easy I'll show you. ........Take the rabbit around the tree and through the hole - and pull! Now, you try.

Peanut: (after some silence punctuated by exasperated sounds): Grrrrrr, one more time.

Sissy: Oh, you almost had it! Try again ........around the tree, through the hole.......gasp!

Peanut: I did it! I tied my shoes!

Sissy: Hey Mommy!

Now, I can't tell you how rarely these little moments occur. Peanut does not like to be told what to do by her older sister at all. In fact, most of the time, she acts like she's the older sister. Sissy, however, is understandably not willing to give up her post, and as a result, we have many -- opportunities for training, shall we say. So we found it quite amusing and sweet that Peanut humbly realized she had something to learn from her sister, and that her sister reacted with patience and encouragement. I'll file that memory for future reference when it's particularly exhausting in the trenches!