Before I had Hollis, I wondered how I would ever love another child as much as I loved Harper. I wondered if I would split my love or if it would grow.
Obviously, all of you with more than one child know that it's not even something worth a minute of thought. Your heart just multiplies. You could have two children or twenty and you would love them all just as much.
There have been a few times I have received comments on here by people who will say "Hollis is so obviously your favorite. I feel sorry for Harper". And then a few weeks later someone will comment or email and say "It's so clear Harper is your favorite. Poor Hollis."
I get so tickled by that.
There is no way either of my girls could be my favorite. I love them both so much and so equally.
Sure there are days one might be my favorite. There are days one wakes up on the wrong side of the bed and whines and fusses all day while the other is a happy, sweet girl and I would be lying to say in that instance - I completely favor one. And I think you would be lying if you said you didn't have those same moments. And the next day they flip roles.
I'm sure my parents completely favored my brother when I was between the ages of about 13 - 15. I wasn't easy to live with. I was a good girl but I was a DRAMA queen while my brother was always so even tempered. I know they loved us completely the same but I would imagine they favored his company over mine and I don't blame them.
A year or two ago I got an email from a company with a terrible PR firm. They were offering blogger trips for free to a resort for moms and their "favorite child". I was so horrified by that. What mom would pick a favorite child to take on a trip and what person in charge of that campaign thought that was a good idea?
My girls are unique and completely different from one another. And I love and embrace their differences. I love and discipline them differently because of their personalities.
My goal is to make each of my girls feel like they are my favorite. Not in a way that would make them feel smug over the other but in a way that makes them feel secure in my love and confident in what a special person they are. My mom always told me I was her favorite daughter.
I was her only daughter but I still felt her sentiment.
I whisper in Hollis' ear often that she is my favorite three year old in the entire world. And I snuggle up with Harper as often as possible and tell her she is my favorite five year old of all times.
Do I have a favorite child?
Yes.
But it's a tie.
