When we asked you for feedback about what you all wanted to read on Ribbon, one of the topics that kept appearing was “sisters,” particularly my sister (and her glorious rebuttals!). Today, we were laughing about the pecking order of children in the family. I am the oldest, my brother, Keith, is the middle child and only boy, and then there’s Janice, the baby.
We got on the subject of baby books and photos today in our marketing meeting, and Janice immediately chimed in that her baby book has very little in it. Mine, however, is filled out to completion. I have my first haircut samples, first baby tooth pulled, all of the first birthday party cake photos, and all of the cards that were sent when I was born, complete with the gift list. Also included are my pediatrician visits, and each required shot was documented to perfection. I’m telling you, it’s all there! I can only imagine my mom sitting there completing this journal of babyhood for me. The little book was satin with cute baby adornments on the cover.
Janice says hers has her name in it and two pages filled out. She then proceeded to tell the story of me badgering her that the only thing that came in fives was a pack of gum. I don’t remember saying that as a child, but it is highly likely that I did! We also told her she was adopted and came from the cabbage patch in grandmother’s backyard. I was really a bad big sister, wasn’t I? She should have invented the Cabbage Patch Kids dolls!
In the middle of this conversation, Janice thought of a comeback that put us all in our places. She simply grinned and said, “My parents just kept having babies until they got what they wanted!” OK, she won that one!
Janice is a wonderful baby sister. She survived all the mess Keith and I brought her way. We realized that because she was the youngest, she had a gift for swaying our parents in her favor. When she got married, I wrote her husband a letter explaining that because she is the baby, she is spoiled. I simply wanted him to know what to expect and how things were going to work. He just laughed. To this day, Janice always says, “It’s your fault; you did it!” Once the baby, always the baby.