5 and 3

Five and three. Those are my children's ages right now. I'd be lying if I said that they were my favorite ages. Wait. Let me re-phrase that: Five is pretty rad, actually. Five is so, so easy to take places and do things with. Five can sit still through movies, ballets, plays. Five has impeccable table manners and is a joy at restaurants. Three isn't all bad. Three is adorable as he figures out how the world works and tells us new (and strangely insightful) things every day. What's not wonderful these days is the ages five and three together...in the same space together. There are times (minutes at a time!) when they play well together and get along nicely. Most of the time, however, is spent fighting like gimpy, half-eared, foaming-at-the-mouth, feral tomcats. Three knows how to push five's buttons. Five is very dramatic and over-emotes everything, much to three's delight. Lather, rinse and repeat. Since five is starting kindergarten in a mere five weeks, I'm trying to breathe deeply and realize that their time confined in close-quarters together is limited, but some days are just so bad. Will I long for five and three when they're 16 and 14?