Dearest Daughters,
We've all been a little under the weather lately.
You two aren't slowed too much by a runny nose.
But, when I get a head cold like this, things start to get blurry. I'm notorious for not taking care of myself, denying that I'm sick, and running rampant, causing damage to my car, running into door jambs, forgetting ingredients, littering the world with typos.
I explained to Bel while driving home from preschool yesterday, "We have to run errands after your nap, but I don't feel good, so we have to take it easy today."
"You don't feel good, Mommy?" you asked, concerned.
"Well, I'm just a little spacey," I replied, trying not to worry you. "That means it's hard for me to concentrate. So, I have to slow down and take care of myself."
"But, I want to go FAST!" you noted, flabergasted, refering to our driving speed.
To clarify, I added, "No. Not the car. I mean I need to pay attention to what I'm doing and be careful, not just when I'm driving, but at home too. So, I can make good choices and make sure we're all safe."
Already turning into the responsible older sibling type, you declared, "I'll keep you safe, Mommy!"
"Thank you, honey. That's very sweet and I appriciate that, but you don't have to worry about keeping me safe. It's my job to keep YOU safe," I assured you.
"But, I want to keep you saaaaaaaafe?!" you whined, as if you were asking for just one more jelly bean.
"Okay," I replied, pretty sure you were confusing safety for jelly beans or, maybe, being swept up in romanticized misconceptions of what "keeping Mommy safe" would involve. Maybe unicorns? And cotton candy? On a rocket ship? With jelly beans?
But to be sure, you continued, "I want to keep you safe and give you hugs when you don't feel good."
Babybel, you are either extremely empathetic, compassionate and caring. Or you're a master manipulator and you know precisely what to say in order to get your mommy to let you ride unicorns in space while eating cotton candy and jelly beans.
Or all of the above.
Love,
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