The Conversation

To the best of my recollection, here is the conversation La Nina and I had this AM:

La Nina: "Mommy, who is Maggie's Mommy?"

Me: "Honey, I am Maggie's Mommy. We adopted her from China just like you."

La Nina: "But who is Maggie's Daddy?"

Me: "Well, Maggie's Daddy is your Daddy. When we adopted her, it meant we would be her Mommy and Daddy forever."

La Nina: "But where does Maggie live?"

Me: "Here with us. We are her family."

La Nina: "But Mommy, Maggie lives in China. When will she go home?"

Me: "No, honey. Maggie lives with us now. She doesn't live in China anymore."

La Nina: "why"

Repeat the above lines 5 times and you will get the idea of my morning. La Nina has figured out the baby might be staying, and I don't think she is happy about it. However, regardless of her feelings, she has been the best big sister. She has been patient and kind. She shares to the best of her abilities and she even seems to understand that Maggie needs a little more attention these days.

In some ways, it breaks my heart. I love La Nina so much and I hate to see her so confused and hurt. And I miss her. I miss our exclusive relationship, but I also know that I want to have more than one child, so this is reality. We all survive siblings and I know she will survive Maggie's arrival. And learn the life lessons only siblings can teach.