the tattler

Every day Maya strives to be a little more grown up. A little bit more like her big sister. It's something I'm both enjoying and dreading as I see my baby girl disappearing little by little replaced by this little person who's favourite pastime these days is tattling. Something she understands the mechanics of, but hasn't yet grasped all the subtle nuances.

From wherever I am in the house I can hear them playing, somewhat together, in the living room or toy room. I listen to the give and take that goes along with sibling relationships especially when toys are involved. For the most part I stay out of it, wanting them to learn to solve these sorts of things between themselves, but these days, more often than not, I hear the pitter patter of the little tattler coming my way.

"I tell Mommy you did! I tell Mommy you did!"

Which translates into - I'm telling Mommy what you did! For those that don't speak toddler.

And then she's there by my elbow, face upturned, eager to tell me of her sister's transgressions. Which are almost always.....

"Abby talked at me!"

Sometimes there is a true disagreement and I can tell those moments because I hear the pitter patter of the tattler's big sister coming behind her. Eager to plead her case before Maya does. Even then the complaint is always the same, "Abby talked at me!"

Maya always looks so serious when we have these little moments it's hard not to giggle a little bit. And please promise to remind me years from now when they're arguing and tattling about borrowed clothes, cd's and the like that there was a time when I found their "fighting" adorable.