Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better!

There was a time in the lives of our 1997 triplets....cousins Mairead, Andrew, and Mari....when they used those words as their guiding philosophy. When Mairead became potty trained it was suddenly a race between Mari and Andrew to see who would be next! When Andrew learned to ride a two wheeled bicycle, Mari and Mairead buckled down and took off their training wheels as well. When Mari wiggled out that first tooth the tooth fairy was suddenly on a regular route between the three houses.

Then the inevitable happened...poor December birthday girl Mari stood on the sidewalk and watched Andrew and Mairead march in the school door without her. It was crushing to the competitive little soul to watch them with their backpacks filled with new crayons and pencils embark on a experience to which she was denied! But it really was for the good. Mari needed a bit more time for social reasons and the triplets needed to begin the process of individualization.

Now, eight years later, they are three very different individuals!! As she sat through her second 8th grade graduation ceremony, Mari was envious but no longer 'crushed'...

 

...and the 'triplets' are still there for each other as Mari and Mairead sat front and center for Andrew's graduation!! [Note: Small town feature of our big town suburb...the woman sitting two over from Mairead was featured in my last post...Julia's 4th grade teacher there for her son's graduation as well!!!]

And graduate he did!!! Unlike over achieving cousin Mairead, Andrew is of the 'lunch and gym' school of thought. You know...as in "My favorite part of school is gym and lunch!"

But Auntie Peggy was not one to let him slack! If only her kitchen table could talk [hmmm possible future post as her kitchen table was originally our great grandmother's table!!] it would tell of many, many nights of Andrew bent over his books with Auntie Peggy leaning from the chair next to him urging him to "just get it finished!".....not because he struggled with the material!! Far from it as he is extremely bright!! It's just that he comes with that darn Y chromosome which causes boys like Andrew to devalue anything that doesn't involve a ball or stick.

Grandma was having a good week as she made it out to both Mairead's AND Andrew's graduation!

She even made it through the decidedly less intimate ceremony given that Andrew went to a school with 5 times the number of students than Mairead.

Yep, it was a milestone to be celebrated by all the cousins...and a few aunts and uncles! The fact that cousins Mairead and Deirdre were only hours away from catching a flight for their summer vacation, was no reason to miss Andrew's big day...families work that way!!

And in this family, ice cream is always a good way to end a special night!

Been an 83 year tradition as a matter of fact (-:

Next year we start a new phase in the life of our 1997 triplets. Andrew and Mairead head off to their respective high schools and Mari moves to the top of the hill as an 8th grader at her middle school. The race to grow up is still being run....but they are no longer all in a pack trying to beat each other...they've found their own events, their own specialties within the meet. It's just nice to know they still love to be on the same team ...cheering each other on!