from Catholic Womanhood...
A few summers ago a friend and her daughter invited my two oldest daughters and me over to her house to go swimming. But before we even had a chance to slip into our swimsuits, the sky turned black with rain.
To assuage our girls’ disappointment, we let them play in the downpour. My friend and I stood watching our little girls squeal with absolute joy as they ran through sheets of rain while taking turns holding a pink umbrella.
Later that night, Madeline announced, “Mommy, I want an ‘umbella.’”
Out of the oodles of toys her friend possessed, what Madeline coveted most was a simple kids’ umbrella. I smiled a bit too smugly. Ah, so my noble efforts to keep Madeline from turning into a materialistic, “I want an oompa loompa now, Daddy!” child were paying off!
Oh, how my (obnoxious) mommy pride was swelling.
Yet, one hard lesson I’ve learned in motherhood is to never, ever get too self-righteous. Just when you start to brag, just a little bit, about how Junior started walking at nine months and everyone is starting to agree that your child is obviously gifted and will surely be reading Shakespeare by age three is when your whiz kid shoves his finger up his nose while grinning stupidly.
This is the law. Don’t ever question it because your kids will humiliate you.
So I really should not have been surprised when, in mid-December, Madeline said she wanted an easel for Christmas.
“What about the umbrella?” I asked, stunned.
“I don’t want an ‘umbella’ anymore.”
Well, an easel isn’t too outrageous. It’s not like she was asking Jolly Old Saint Nick for a plasma television or a diamond tiara. I could deal with this development, but my heart really sank when I returned home with a surprise for my little girl later that week.
“I have a special treat for you,” I said, showing Madeline a bobbing helium balloon.
“Oh! Thank you!”
She smiled and took the balloon, but then my little material girl asked, “Something else, too?”
What? My not-even-three-year-old was no longer happy with just a balloon?
Read on...
No comments:
Post a Comment