Does anyone know what "tit for tat" means?? I've always heard and used the phrase in cases where something is done to be fair or equal. So, for example, if Kip gets a Popsicle, Ivy gets a Popsicle.
Apparently, that's not quite the definition of the phrase. It actually means equal retaliation, or the right to wrong someone the way they have wronged you. Essentially, "an eye for an eye" concept.
Oops. Guess I've been using it wrong?
But my theory still applies. For Kip and Ivy, I want things to at least feel basically equal. As identical twins, Mandy and I have always been hyper conscious of what the other one receives or doesn't receive. And we always tried for things to be fair. Of course, in life, things are rarely truly fair and almost never completely equal. We've learned that the hard way. But as a kid, that longing was often motivated by love. I didn't want Mandy to feel left out because she didn't want me to feel left out. We just wanted the other one to feel happy. Co-dependency for the win!
As a mom, I feel like I want to at least make an effort to keep things as close to the same as possible for each of my kids when those "things" are within my control. For some reason, this narrows down to my efforts towards documenting their lives here on the blog and in creating tangible memory capsules for them. Did I set out to do this from day one? Nope. I wasn't even conscious of it until Ivy came along. I looked back at all the special things I had done to document Kip's life and suddenly I felt an obligation to do it for her too. Kip got a completed baby book so Ivy will too. Kip had a cute first birthday bib and party hat, so Ivy did too. I took monthly photos and wrote a post for every month of Kip's first year development. Ivy got all of that too. Right down to the projects I loathed doing with Kip but ultimately completed. And here it is, the hand print/foot print paint project. It was messy, it was a pain, Ivy hated it. I hated it. BUT, I did it for Kip and I felt the need to do it for her. So I did. Hopefully some day some one will appreciate the effort.
Okay, okay, so the effort was worth it to see those little toe-toes grow! Ugh, so sweet.
See Kip's Paint Project assembly here.
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