Nipping in the Bud, a life of crime.....A Mary and Susie Story!

There is this side to Mary that is just meaner than a snake. She hits. Matter of fact of all my children, Mary and Nathan are the only hitters. Moses tried this line of work once and quickly found crime didn’t pay.
Mary is also somewhat rough with her siblings. She is an angel of mercy when Mom is on the job. When she feels like she isn’t heard or being played with her only recourse is to snap. She hollers and slaps her brothers or sister on the back. Nathan is the only one that even dares to be cruel to Amy (referring to my previous letter and Amy’s protection policy).
This was particularly funny though one particular afternoon. The girls had for several days been taking nap time and using it for play time. They would sneak toys into the bed and then play house on the bed! The little kitchen and such were set up on their pillows. And under the covers were little houses. They had a very sweet set up. All except that they had HOURS to do this, they didn’t need to do this in the hours of naptime!!!! I would come in, administer a sound parental response to their disobedience scrape the toys out of the sheets, tuck the sniffling females back into place and leave. Sleep would follow very quickly. But, the afternoon that I had just heard enough giggling, and just COULDN’T believe that they were playing again!!!! ……..
I had just warned them in the most sincere manner to go to sleep, that it was NAP TIME, and they needed to obey. Blah blah blah. I cracked open their door, thinking I was gonna get a glimpse of them and their play…What I saw were two little bodies under the massive quilt. (They have been sleeping in the same bed, the full size bottom bunk of Susie’s). They were snickering. They were talking. They were disobeying.
I padded over to the edge of the bunk bed. I listened as they chatted.
“Ohhh, this is my house. Moommmyy.” They made one of the dolls give a wail for the “mommy” of the toys.
“No, This is the Mommy.” The other replied.
“You say, ‘Let’s go to my house!” Susie was giving orders as usual…she was the pace setter for all the games of house that the girls played.
So they played, I stood, the silent watcher of the rebels. Then Susie must have done something wrong, for Mary goes…”Noooo Sue!!”
Then beneath the sheets I hear Mary give Susie several slaps. I waited to hear Susie either retaliate or scream for Mama…..
Susie gave a sound that made it clear that she wasn’t going to play with Mary now. No crying. No screaming…She just scooted further to the edge of the bed. “I want my blankey.” She nuzzled over, her blankey was with her, I had given it to her…and she was quiet, so I knew that she must have wrapped it around her.
“I think I am done with this.” Susie was pushing the quilt off her face.
“Susie” Mary was protesting. “You play with mmmeeeeee….” She whined.
“I’m done…” Susie slid the last corner of the quilt off her face only reveal my face staring hard into hers. She had been playing, she had been awake, she knew that she was in for it. And it was scaring the daylights out of her just to know that mama had been aware the whhhoooollllleee time.
It was all I could do to not burst out laughing from Susie’s expression. I silently placed a finger before my lips….and gave a silent “sshhhh”. Then I wagged my finger in a “Don’t talk” motion. Susie gave a slight nod. She was going to do ANYTHING I said. She knew she was in deep trouble.
“Susie! Susie!” Mary was persisting from under the quilt. “Susie! Come back here and play with me!” Susie looked at me in misery. She listened to her sister incriminate herself at every turn. Then Mary started to shove Susie through the covers. Susie was being scooted across the bed closer and closer to me….the enemy. “SUE-ZEE!!!” Mary was snapping under the tension that her sister wasn’t answering. Susie was in a complete worried state. Would she get in trouble? Or would Mary hit her again for not responding….
Finally Mary had enough and flung the covers back to give her full vial of wrath on her mute sister……….then….She….Saw…..me……..
She sat there with the quilt in her arms. It took her almost a complete 5 seconds to understand what was going on. She shot an irritated look at her little sister….Susie still lay there stiff as a poker. Then Mary turned on her defense tears. They didn’t get far….I didn’t have to say much, I had both girls like putty in the hand. I made the most of the situation. I lowered my gaze to match Mary’s. My prominent concern was that she had been violent with her sister. I placed my finger and my face directly at Mary.
“Don’t, You, ever hit your sister again.” I was very grave, no shouting, just steady admonishment. The girls both had eyes as round as medallions.
I then had to confiscate all contraband, and suggested that they mind. They were very very aware that their Mother must have some kind of super power…They weren’t going to argue, or disobey this time.