Montessori Report, Day Seven: Mommy Spots Bailey, Cordelia's Feathers Get Ruffled

Today went better. Finally. Thank God. We did our crazy goodbye ritual (you don't want to know) and he was a little trembly, and a little lost, but okay on the whole. When I picked him up, it was recess. There's nothing quite like the moment when he spots you standing there, his eyes light up, he grins a huge, joyful smile and gallops over and jumps up into your arms. I keep telling myself to file the image away, because before too long, I'll be expected to wait in the shadows of a parking lot, not daring to show my Mom face or Mom jeans, when I pick him up from middle school, where he will likely not deign to even grunt a greeting. Anyway, I asked if he had been playing and he said, "Mostly I have just been following Bailey around." Gamely, I said, "Can I meet Bailey?" He got all dreamy-eyed and led me over to an area of the playground, where he stood, mute, staring, with a goofy smile on his face. I turned to see a tall, tanned, leggy girl, with chin-length, white-blond surfer-girl hair (incongruous with the red and blue plaid jumper). She looks like the kind of girl who could tie knots. She was toothy and giggly and, so far as I could divine, had no idea we were standing there, or that Cody was grinning like a fool, or that we even existed. As it should be, I suppose.

The only one who wasn't charmed by this scene was Cordelia. Her eyes narrowed, she squirmed down and ran to Cody, stood in front of him to block his view and shouted insistently, "COCO! COCO!!" She was holding Patches (it's her responsibility to bring him to school to give to him) and when Cody reached out absentmindedly to get him, eyes still searching out the depths of Bailey's soul, she pulled poor puppy back and clutched him close to her chest, refusing to hand him over until she commanded her brother's full attention.

I think that might be my favorite sibling moment ever. Cordelia is fierce. She will brook no competition and will not suffer fools. She will rule that playground someday. And I will get different sorts of calls of concern from the teacher.