1m2aSandbox

Cora’s been down about her best friend being out of town for two whole weeks, and if there’s one thing that’s been just as consistent as Cora’s moping, it’s her sister’s kindness.

All week Maddie’s been solicitous towards Cora, putting up with Cora’s crabby moods and showering her little sister with attention. A couple days ago Maddie made a fake restaurant in the living room and “served” Cora her afternoon snack off a tablecloth, providing a menu from which to choose and everything. Maddie’s been patient in the morning when Cora’s surly and snapping as she contemplates another day without the bff, and truly I’m seeing Maddie rise to the occasion and live out the role of Big Sister like I’ve never seen before.

Cora’s best friend has taken a leave from school for a two-week vacation, and Cora is, in a word, bereft.

She left school on Friday, climbed into my arms, and burst into tears, having just said goodbye to her friend. Cora was able to put it out of her mind for the weekend, but when Monday morning came a thundercloud followed Cora around all morning. She stalked darkly into school, and if I’d thought a day at school would help I was wrong. When she came out she was barely talking.

Our family first went to see FROZEN over Thanksgiving break, and we’ve been huge fans ever since. Such big fans, in fact, that for the first time EVER we paid to see a movie a second time IN A FIRST-RUN THEATRE, over Christmas break. The girls have matching FROZEN shirts that say “Sisters Forever”; we’ve bought (and memorized) the soundtrack; and we’ve downloaded all the karaoke tracks so the girls can do their own performances.

We’re FROZEN fans.

So when the girls got gift cards to Target for Christmas, I wasn’t surprised that Cora wanted to spend hers on the FROZEN dolls. As we walked through the store a couple days before New Year’s eve, Cora was tense with anticipation to hunt down and find the sisters.

This week’s been a bit off with school being closed on Monday, so everything’s felt a little off-schedule. I worked as usual Monday evening, allergies notwithstanding, and both girls felt it was me working “extra”, sort of like working on the weekend.

Then on Tuesday Cora stayed home while Maddie went with me for the afternoon and evening, as she had a little class of her own at my school. So for four hours Maddie tagged along to coachings and classes, hanging out quietly, doing homework, eating dinner in the corner, and having a fair amount of Mommy Time while we drove from place to place.

Which meant that by Wednesday I was feeling a little empty in the Cora column. Wednesday afternoons, I usually take Maddie to ballet while my mom stays home with Cora, but yesterday I felt like Cora was in danger of becoming the “other kid” off in the corner all the time – the “also ran”. So I asked Mom to take Maddie to ballet and Cora and I had some one-on-one time.

Yesterday Maddie told me that she can’t wait until the weekend. Amused, I asked her, “What are you looking forward to doing over the weekend?”

Maddie sighed a deep sigh. “Oh, just resting, and hanging out in the clubhouse. I really need some down time.”

Yep, we’ve got our own clubhouse here. Also known as Gramma’s room.

My mom has a very sweet window seat in her room: a nice, wide window, with a large bench built-in, deep enough for two people to sit facing each other and wide enough for them to stretch out their legs. A few months ago the girls discovered this niche and how it turns into a fantastic sun-bathing spot in the afternoon, and promptly claimed it for themselves.