Between the Lines

Dear girls,

Do you know that you both have your mother's deep hazel greenish brown eyes, the kind that sparkle when the sun hits them just right? Did you know that you both have the same light brown hair? You both have chunky thighs that meet at the knees in a perfect squishy tenderness. You both say bye-bye, which is more like bah-bah-bah.

Yet, that is where your similarities end, except, of course, when we're playing Monkey See, Monkey Do.

When one eats fast, the other chews so slowly I think I'm watching slow motion.
When one is happy and easygoing, the other is throwing a tantrum the size of Mt. Rushmore.
When one is not teething, the other one is.
When one is learning a new skill, the other is off running around tearing things up.
When one is reading, the other is throwing.
When one is willing to eat just about anything, the other wants nothing to do with any of it.
When one is patient, the other isn't.

Yet, your learning curve continues to be the same. You know all of your body parts, and just about every animal sound, including duck, coyote and horse. We know that your language will soar very soon now as evidenced by the long sentences of gibber-jabber lately.

You also play by yourselves better than ever. Da! says that soon I will be irrelevant, that you won't need me by your side all the time.

I don't think so.

Slow, down, girls. You're growing up too fast.