Things my sisters have taught me

Today is my big sister's 40th birthday... which just seems absolutely ridiculous to me. In my mind, she's still around 22, and really funny and a little  bit reckless.. ok, a lot a bit reckless.  We used to have a lot of fun back in the day.  Now, she is a super responsible mom of 3 kids that are rapidly approaching their teens and tweens.  She handles them like a champ.  She is very conservative with their tv and video game/ media exposure, which I admire, even though I don't completely agree with.  I'm a big fan of media, and as a single mother, am VERY grateful for media to distract my guys through out parts of the day to give me a little bit of peace. Also, my kids don't get to do what her kids, and a lot of other kids get to do, like sports camps and Disney world, etc, so I definitely overcompensate by letting them watch a lot of tv and play video games.. but whatev.
 I learned almost all of my "mothering" tools from her.  When J was born, I was clueless.  I thought I knew it all and that I would just naturally become a great mom.  This was not the case.  Her first baby was extremely colicky, just like mine.  She talked me down from the ledge many a night during J's first 4 months of life.  When he was about 8 months old, I decided I was ready for sleep training.  My big sister would sit on the phone with me night after night- despite the fact that at the time she had a 2, 4 and 6 year old to take care of- and read me excerpts from the book called "Healthy sleep habits, happy baby" by Dr Weissbluth.  I would sit on the teensy tiny radiator vent in my galley kitchen in midtown Manhattan sipping on white wine, with a cotton ball in one ear to drown out the screams, and the phone firmly pressed on the other.  I depend on her all the time as she goes through the different age phases of childhood and all the new rules and warnings that go with them.  I bank all of her knowledge in the back of my mind to be used in another couple of years when my boys catch up.
My twin sister taught me an extremely valuable lesson waaaay back in the day when we were still in college and the kids were not even a glimmer in our eyes.
She had a teacher named Maria Rocca- in the speech department.  I don't remember the reason why Dr Rocca said this to her, but she gave her one huge piece of advice about raising a daughter.  That advice was this:  Whenever your daughter walks in the room, smile and her and show her how happy you are to see her... every time.   I took this to heart, and I know that my sister did too.
When my boys were born, I remembered this advice.  Sometimes it's hard to implement it, but I try my hardest to do it.  I try all the time.  Even after I've just doled out a nasty tongue lashing, when one of my sons walks back in the room from the prison of time-out, I receive them with a hug, and on a good day, a smile.
My children will be taken care of... and my sisters are the reason why.  My big sister has taught me SO many invaluable things about all the very necessary medical, physical, everyday needed childcare information.  This sort of advice and information is so precious and invaluable, that I don't know what I'd have done without her.
My twin sister taught me the biggest lesson of all-- to love the boys, and make sure they know it, every day.  I Think of her teacher often, Dr. Rocca, and wonder how many thousands of children that her simple words may have impacted over the years.  I'm glad that my two are benefiting from her seemingly simplistic, yet very insightful wisdom.
This blog entry is hardly a total collection of the things I've learned from my sisters.. but it's a little glimmer into what I've gotten from them, and certainly a small homage to them for all they've taught me and done for me over the years.
Thanks Bitches.