Gifted and Talented

We had parent/teacher conferences today. My daughter's teacher wants to have her tested for the Gifted and Talented program at her school.

Both kids got glowing comments as far as their behavior and social skills - I am very happy to hear that because right now they are both getting ready for bed after being yelled at for wrestling...which ended, as it invariably does, with one of them in tears.

I am an only child, so I am the first to admit that I don't have any experience to draw from when it comes to sibling relationships. Man! Do these two fight! Daily. Multiple times daily. They know exactly how to push each other's buttons...from swinging their book bags at each other or kicking dirt at each other while waiting for the bus to arguments over who sits where when they watch tv together. It makes me insane. I wonder if I get so annoyed because part of me thinks I am not raising them properly. When I truly think about that it doesn't quite make sense though - in school they seem to be models of citizenship. In fact, my son earned the citizenship award for his school last year. So why are they so awful to each other? Is it because it is "safe"? They know I will love them no matter how much they argue, or they know they will always have each other even when their dad and I are gone? Whatever the reason, I do wish that we could go one day, at least once in a while, without a Battle Royale.

If you don't understand how a woman could both love her sister dearly and want to wring her neck at the same time, then you were probably an only child. ~Linda Sunshine