eye to eye

When I stand facing Middle, we look each other right in the eye. She claims she's taller, and she may be right. When she wants to lay her head on my shoulder, she has to lean a bit. She's tall enough now that I can lay my head on her shoulder. It's a little strange. We are very close to being just the same size. It's true there are a few minor differences, but we can wear each other's clothes, and she has handed a few things down to me. We don't share shoes though. Middle's feet have been bigger than mine for at least 3 years. She's going to be tall, like Husband.

Middle sometimes comments on what I'm wearing (and apparently I'm either lucky or have good taste--she only says nice things) and helps me know if the back of my hair looks ok. She asks me about her clothes or hair sometimes too, and I take it seriously. After all, not all 15 year old girls want to know what their mothers think about such things.

Sometimes Middle and I like to go out together, just to run errands. We feel like it's important that we stick together. After all, at our house, boys outnumber girls. I tell her often that I need her and that it would not be cool for her to abandon me to all those men. She laughs when I say that. We sort of like the men at our house, big and small. That doesn't mean we don't appreciate a little girl-only time every now and again.

I still feel a little start of surprise every time Middle and I brush shoulders and when I turn I find myself looking right into her beautiful brown eyes. While it's true that we sometimes push each other's buttons, more often than not we like being together, side by side and eye to eye.