the perks with being a GUEST

Last night Addison had her friend Isabelle sleep over. The girls play well together, but they're 4. And, they're girls. And, they're both first-borns. As a first-born girl myself, I'll own the tendency we have to be overbearing/controlling/bossy (whatever you want to call it). These first-borns are no different than the rest and, despite their usually sweet and passive personalities, find these innate qualities hard to keep under wraps too long. Especially when they're tired.

I heard a few statements made about being a guest. You know, like, "I should get to pick what game we play next because I'm the guest." Sure, fair enough. Or, "I want to be Dora. You can be Diego. I'm the guest." Absolutely. Even, "You should sit in the blue chair since your my guest." Good Girl!

Then I heard some bickering and thought it might be time to intervene. I asked them what was going on and Addi looked up, completely frustrated, and said, "She's not letting me be the guest!"

The funny thing is that Addi has been a guest at Isabelle's house 4 times in the last week (including an overnight stay) and I know her mother would make sure that Addi was treated like a royal guest.

I had to fight back a smile as I reminded Addi she wasn't the guest.

It's a hard lesson when you're 4, but this is just the beginning of having friends over and learning how to treat your guests.