There has been quite a drastic change in the relationship between the two siblings. While Rou is increasingly showing affection for her brother, Gabe has grown antagonistic towards his little sister.
It all started from the time Rou was able to move around (whether by wriggling, rotating or plain butt shifting) and reach out to pick things up. She has such a keen eye for little things lying around and will find her way somehow to get to them. She would pick up Gabe's favourite taxi and he would get upset. She would pick up whatever that belongs to him, and he would get upset. What was exclusively his is now in the hands of another and he didn't like it one bit; his territory was invaded from within the boundaries of his home, which was far worse than having to share toys when he meets with friends once in a while. It came to a point where Gabe would be playing in one corner of the living room, saw Rou make a move towards a toy lying out of her reach, dash past her to get to the toy first and "safeguard" it for himself.
Then Rou progressed to crawling, and at a relatively early stage at seven months. This mobility meant that she could get to whatever she wanted to reach easily. And it didn't help that she's attracted to her brother and would always want to participate in whatever he's doing. Gabe would be piecing his jigsaw puzzle together at one corner and she'd make her way there. Then she'll do what she does best - separating/ tearing apart items and fiddling with them for ages before putting them into her mouth. The brother is obviously not keen at being interrupted at play. He would shout for help the moment she showed some intention of coming towards him. If we weren't fast enough, he would shove her in frustration. And the snatching. All this got him into quite a bit of trouble with the parents.
With time, Gabe got used to having his sister around during play time, and probably gave up on chasing after her to "save" his toys all the time. We saw a sudden magnanimity over the masak masak, then the miscellaneous things that lie around and on good days, his cars and even his straws (which he uses as drumsticks)! But he still hates being disturbed at play, and if she thwarts any of his toy arrangements, we'd have to go back to the old drawing board again. We still see his protectiveness over things he believes are his.
The climate has changed to one where conflict is present, and I'm looking forward to another change, this time for the better. Waiting for the day that Gabe can see Rou as a playmate. Still, our prayer for the two siblings remains the same: that they will grow up close to each other and be able to encourage each other in their journeys in life, and their walks with God.
One of those rare shots
No comments:
Post a Comment