O Brother, Where Art Thou?

John Steinbeck once said that there are only really two stories: Man's Fall from grace, and Cain & Abel. The more I think about it, the more I have to say that he was right.

In creating this little mini-Eden of ours, I have to acknowledge that the human version comes up short: we can barely afford this place (not-so-big as it is), and it's still not finished. Then there's the location--middle of nowhere has its perks, but it also has its downsides, especially when you're a stay-at-home mom.

But more intriguing to me lately, as an only child, is the issue of sibling rivalry, and how it is playing out in our family. It's obviously early days yet to make any pronouncements about how close our kids are, or how competitive they are for our attention--who knows how things will turn out in the long run? But I do know that Dan's first word in the morning (after "NO!") is "NINNY!!!" and Ginny loves to slip into Dan's room in the morning before he's awake because she can't wait any longer to play with him (that is, wrestle with him. That's his main form of play.)

I also know that poor Ginny has had to vegetate alone on the couch in the afternoon, against her will, while I'm holding and cajoling Dan as he goes through his witching
hour, when nobody and nothing but Mommy Mommy Mommy will do. I know that Ginny has had to watch Dan tear up her drawings and books and knock down her precious Lego towers--and she's definitely not above fetching him a swipe or two when she thinks nobody's looking. (Although she can also be infinitely patient with his hair-pulling and even the biting that goes along with it sometimes. You'll notice that her picture shows Dan drooling and pulling out her hair--did you notice that her symbol for Dan is the sun, and her symbol for herself is the moon? I swear I didn't tell her to do that.) I have seen my children literally fighting over and beating each other with a large zucchini. I have also seen the little one bite a child who took a toy away from his sister.

I don't actually know what to make of the whole sibling situation, except to say that my little Cain and Abel are both alive and well for the moment. And perhaps, just perhaps, if the original siblings had been allowed to beat the stuffing out of each other once in awhile, then the murderous rage that lurks in us all might have been allayed...or maybe not. (Who knows--maybe Abel ALWAYS got the big zucchini?) Above all, I do believe that there's something to the idea that we are all our brother's keeper. When Adam and I are gone, these two will have each other, for better or worse. But I'm hoping for better...