Sweet girls of ours

During a phone call tonight, Dad asked if Valerie and Rachel always get along. I had to say that I can't remember them ever getting into a fight. Some examples of how sweet they are to each other:

--on the 4th of July, Rachel accidentally kicked Valerie in the head when she insisted on doing a somersault after the fireworks, when it was dark. She burst into tears and was inconsolable for a while, saying, "It's my fault! I'm so angry at myself!" convinced that she had seriously hurt Valerie. Even when Valerie reassured her she was okay, it took a while for Rachel to calm down. At one point, she said, of Valerie, "She should kick ME in the head!" Had to wince at that one.

--during the day of the 4th, Valerie scratched her foot badly on the hose we use to water the flowers. She screamed and cried; it was apparently a bad injury. Rachel got very quiet and morose, and when we asked her why, she said it was her fault that the hose was on the ground and that Valerie had gotten hurt. It's great that she takes responsibility, Drew noted later, but sometimes she takes on too much.

--tonight Daniella said that Valerie, referring to Rachel, called her "my sweet sister who happens to be my cousin." I wish I had been there; I would have covered her little face with kisses. And she would have squirmed and run away, of course.

--also tonight, there was a scary part of the movie Rachel chose for herself and Valerie, and when Rachel burst into tears, Valerie put her arm on her lap and said, "That's okay, Rachel. I'll protect you!" When Rachel ran upstairs and insisted on cuddling with me in the papasan chair in the study, where I was working on a magazine story, Valerie -- who had run upstairs after Rachel -- said, "I hate those bad guys! I want to kill them!" Then they both calmed down and finished the movie.

Really wish I was young enough to be their friend.