Last weekend Paul was away for some cycling thing, which meant Jo was left to parent two little hooligans on her own. On Saturday morning they came through early to spend the day with the family. We all had plans to do Christmas shopping too. I met up with friends visiting from Mauritius (yes, they really live there and I've only been to visit them once!!) for an early breakfast and met up with my folks and the kids after. Jake and I headed off on our own for a bit, but Christmas shopping with Jake around was highly impractical, so we headed home, not getting much done. The picture above was taken late in the afternoon. We were busy braai'ing and Jake and Corky were watching a movie. Corky just couldn't keep his eyes open.
Do your kids fight? Jake has no siblings, so it's hard to imagine what his life should've been like with 2 or 3 siblings. And I must be totally honest here, I am so glad that I am a single parent to just 1 child...
Jake and Corks are very funny together. On one hand, Jake is fiercely protective and would step in to protect his little cousin if anyone were to say or do anything nasty and Corky only recently stopped begging Jake for a goodbye kiss on his forehead before Jake went off to school, literally crying if Jake ran out the door forgetting about his kiss. They can play beautifully together, with with the right toys (usually building something) when they're both in the right mood. The flip side is that these two are like oil and water a lot of the time.
Corky is a creature of habit. He likes his little routines and habits and sticks to them. Jo always says that if he goes to a party wearing a jacket, he won't leave it behind. Sometimes it's a bit difficult for Jake to understand this about his cousin and Jake definitely uses it, amongst other things, to tease Corky. Take for example the chair Corky likes to sit in to watch TV. Jake will deliberately sit in Corky's spot the moment Corky gets up. Or play with the toy Corky's left unattended for a moment. Then it's a battle to reason with Jake to get him to understand that somethings are not worth fighting about; that sometimes it's easier to give in to keep the other person happy. To give in is not easy when you're 8, but hopefully with some perserverence, he'll learn.
That said, I think they both like to see one another getting into trouble from time to time. Take another example - this morning, Corky grabbed his leg and yelled, "Ow, Jake kicked me". He was sitting about 2m away from Jake, who was eating breakfast, on a separate couch, with my dad in between them. Then it's a shouting match that "Connor's lying" and "I didn't kick you" and "it's not fair". Corky was adamant that Jake had kicked him.
And that, dear friends, is why God invented wine for us to indulge in (just a glass) once our kids have gone to bed!!
Love,
Sue XXX
3 comments:
Hence I can clean out a small wine cellar on my own with 3 kids. But honestly Sue, myself being an only child, this is so great for Jake. Experiencing siblinghood to an extend.
So sweet. My sister and I were the same growing up, it was like cat and mouse, if I wanted something, suddenly that was what she wanted and since I am 5yrs older than her, my parents kind of always expected me to give in to her (which was good for her but sucks for me)
The most important thing is that they love one another dearly and this will form stories to tell when they are much older.
Hi Cat,
I can only imagine what it's like with 3 children. You deserve a medal along with that glass of wine!! It is super that Jake gets to spend so much time with his younger cousins and I'm sure the lessons he's learning will be positive in the end. Just exhausting in the moment...
Mrs FF,
Jake's in the same boat with having to give in all the time. It's not an easy lesson (I was also the oldest of 3). They wind each other up so and sometimes Jake gives and sometimes Corky has to...
Sue X
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