The gift that keeps on giving?

I gave each of my daughters a gift.  I knew it was risky to give a gift without asking them if they really wanted it.  I knew it was a gift I couldn't return if they decided it wasn't for them.  It was a gift that I didn't get as a child, and I've been thankful every single day for not receiving it.  But, I thought I was doing them a favor.  What was the gift?

I gave them sisters.

I really thought I was doing the right thing.  Well (to be honest) I tried to give them brothers, but my supplier was all out of those apparently.  I wanted them to have someone that they could always turn to and say, "Remember when Mama was such a witch that she _____________?"  I think every kid needs to have someone to grow up with so they always have someone to confirm their horror stories of childhood.  I wasn't so foolish as to believe that they would always be best friends every step of the way.

However, I did not count on them HATING each other either.  And, they do.  Well, not all of them.  And, not all of the time.  But, put more than two of them together at any one time and someone always ends up crying.  They hate each other with the kind of venom that makes me think one is sneaking into the other's room to eat their puppy at night.  Except we don't have a puppy, and I don't let them wander the halls at night.

As I said, my mother didn't reproduce after she had me.  And, the world is a better place for it.  My dad and step-mother have two kids (twelve and fourteen years younger than me), but I didn't grow up with anyone.  So, I thought that maybe this was normal?  But I've asked people who have siblings, and they say they didn't behave like this.  I've asked people with more than one child now, and they say their kids don't fight all of the time.  So, I guess it's just mine.  Great.

What is it about my girls that makes them dislike each other so much?  They fight from the moment they wake up to the moment I shove them in their rooms and lock the doors lay them sweetly in their beds and kiss their foreheads.  I want them to grow up to be best friends, but I would also like them to be friends today.  They are such amazing people, but they can't seem to see that about each other.  I'm at a loss.  I have assured them that I'm not getting rid of any of them (although there are moments when I imagine putting an ad up).  Will they grow out of it?  Will it ever stop?  Will we all survive?  Will the liquor stash run out before my patience?  Stay tuned.