Time With My Little Sisters

It’s been a while since I wrote about life in the big sister department, and while not many concrete and notable events have occurred, every day with these little girls has been such a joy (an encanto even). The girls usually play after school on campus every Friday with their friends; they end school quite early (around 2pm) while I end school a bit later (around 2:20pm). Yesterday, as I left class after my last period, two bright faces jumped at me as I turned the corner and gave me a big hug. Carmen and Catalina were in hysterics over my frightened face, and they proceeded to run away towards the playground after tackling me.

Carmen and Catalina are always very curious about the different facial products I use. They wanted to try on two of my face masks, so Carmen chose the “green” one and Catalina chose the “white” one. They both then decided to put the masks on me — leaving half my face green and half my face white!

I’ve really been enjoying spending time with these two. They are learning how to roller skate now, and we’ve been out roller-skating a few times in the park. I still have to hold Carmencita’s little hands so she doesn’t fall over, but it’s been so much fun to see all her giggles and laughter when she’s able to zoom past me. Taking advantage of the rainy weather in Badajoz here in early April, all three of us have been going outside to jump in muddy puddles and spot snails.

Over Semana Santa, we had our first girls outing together. We first stopped at a local dollar shop and bought all the decorations they thought were necessary for us to throw our own party on my birthday. I then took Carmen and Catalina out to the local mall for a little sweet treat, and all three of us ended up buying clothes to wear for my birthday. We initially wanted to find matching clothes for all three of us, but I ended up letting them choose the dress I wore on my birthday. It was so much fun to host our own little fashion show in the empty fitting room of the store; every time Carmencita came out wearing a new outfit, she would be sure to show me her princess twirl as well!

We’ve been spending quite some time in the kitchen as well. Last weekend, Laura let us spend the afternoon in the kitchen experimenting with flavors to make our own bizcocho (Spanish sponge cake). Catalina mostly helped me, but little Carmen was the best taste tester we could have asked for. I’ve even been helping Catalina and Carmen with their homework, and last week, Catalina and I worked on a school science experiment she had about making a natural face mask.

This weekend, Catalina, Carmen, and I are alone at home while Roberto and Laura attend a wedding in a neighboring town. Of course, we have all the emergency contacts and all at home, but it’s been so fun having our own slumber party. Right now, as I’m writing this, the girls are waiting for me to join them on the sofa with the special popcorn they made so we can continue watching the movie they chose.

I’ve surprisingly also been discovering new music through these two. They are currently obsessed with this song called Tacones Rojos (“Red Heels”) by a Colombian singer named Sebastian Yatra. Although the song was a little weird for me at first, I’ve practically fallen in love with it solely based on the record number of times the song has been played in this house.

For my own future reference, this is the song that has been blasting in this household the past month or so.

This post doesn’t have any deep contemplations or thoughts, but I do consciously try to remind myself how lucky I am to have these little girls as my baby sisters. I really am going to miss them so much come summer time when I have to go. Come to think of it, it was never hard to step into the big sister tacones (“heels” or “shoes”) with these girls; right from the moment I stepped out into the Badajoz bus station, they came running towards me — willing to accept me and love me as their new big sister. And that truly was the moment I fell in love with them too. Having little sisters who are much younger has also honestly opened my mind much more to the parent perspective; so many times, I see them get in trouble for things I once did as a child too — except now I see exactly why my parents got mad too.

Here’s more mask pictures from our slumber party — C+C begged me to upload these pictures!

I want to thank these two from the bottom of my heart for teaching me so much and loving me everyday. It makes me so happy to know that we are building the foundations for a lifelong relationship, and I cannot wait for them to one day come and visit me in California :)

From all the funny selfies of Carmen to Catalina’s magic tricks, every day here is truly a party with these two <3