April Babies & Little Mothers

The number ten is a very important and special number to me.  My little tiny, brand new elf-ling sister was born when I was ten years old.  I remember it as though it were yesterday.  The anticipation as we watched our Mothers belly grow and actually thought she might pop, and the agony of the wait, the day she went into the hospital.  My first gaze at her, my first hold as I cradled this tiny little piece of perfection in my arms, her shock of dark thick hair and sweet baby smell...it changed me in a heartbeat.  Something inside me, that until then, I had never known existed, was born along with my baby sister.  I couldn't take my eyes off her, didn't want to leave her, would be the first to hold her, comfort her and keep her safe.  I would push her in her pram, feeling so very proud and privileged.  Her first words, first steps, her husky voice calling me Emmie, even her terrible two tantrums, I loved it all.  The years have rolled by, and we have grown into proper sisters.  I have my chance to be not just a little mother to her, but a sister and a friend, the age gap has closed and we are the same.  Deep down, I will always feel so protective of her, want to keep her safe, and see that little blonde girl with her sweet baby smiles and her arms so tight around my neck.  She was my special girl, and she still is.
Daisy and Lucy are so similar, with the same age gap, the same bond.  It's Em and Fona all over again.  They have something special that is so pure and lovely.  There really must be something about the number 10, and as I watch them in the garden, playing, laughing, cuddling, and I am reminded of two other little girls, many years ago.....

Garden Sprites

When I was a little girl, I spent hours in the garden, with my sister.  We had our very own version of home made perfume, taught to us by our Mother, and aptly called, 'stinky whiff'.  We would fill little jars with water and add whatever petals were available in the garden at the time, maybe a few leaves for good measure.  We dreamt, we created and we lived in our little worlds of make-believe.  Hours we spent, decorating swings with garlands of wild flower, making mud-pies, and  foraging for chives, nasturtiums petals or seeds to chew on until our breath stank and tongues were hot.   We turned chairbeds upside down, inside out, arranging them with crocheted  blankets and making tents out of them...lying there with the sun streaming through the gaps onto our little bodies.  Oh I long for those days sometimes...happy summers, just my imagination, my sister and I..
I watch my babies doing the same things, history repeating itself, little Emma and little Kate, discovering all that life has to offer.  All brand new for them.  Lucky lucky little girls, and their imaginations.

They run, they sing, they laugh, they play.  It's the beginning, just the beginning of some of the most amazing years of their lives, together.  They don't know it yet, but one day, they will.