Moms make everything better

Moms fix cuts and bruises
Every summer many neighborhood kids come to my house when they get hurt. They all know I'm home and I'll stop the bleeding. So in the Spring I buy a box of 100 band-aids. They are almost all gone by Fall.

Last week Makayla bumped her knee. She kept asking me to make it better. However, I really couldn't see anything wrong with it; it certainly didn't need a band-aid. I was busy and not thinking clearly, because I didn't realize what she wanted me to do. Finally, she kissed her knee. "There, I made it all better, Mommy." Boy, I felt like I failed as a mother.

Moms cheer you up
Recently Makayla was cranky. I couldn't figure out why. She whined and cried about everything. I began making silly faces and goofy voices and tickling her. She tried to complain but couldn't hold back her smile. She started having fun despite herself. Through her giggles she pleaded, "Mommy, stop making me feel better!" Too late - you're already happier.

Tonight Samuel came downstairs an hour and a half past bedtime, complaining about a scary part in the book he's reading (Fablehaven, when Seth meets the witch Muriel, who is really creepy). "Well," I said, "stop reading. Go to sleep. In the morning when it's light, it won't be as scary."
"I know," he said meekly. "But right now I need a hug from Mom." He sat down next to me, and we hugged. We hugged until he felt ready to go back to bed.

Brotherly love?

Benjamin came to me while I was in the kitchen making dinner and Samuel was on the couch in the living room. 

"There are 3 things I like and 3 things I don't like about Sammy being a bookworm," he said. "The things I don't like are:
"1. He doesn't want to go outside.
"2. He doesn't want to play with me.
"3. He doesn't want to talk to me."
(Samuel's rebuttal: "That's because he always wants to talk and play at night when we're in bed, and I'm reading to help myself fall asleep!")

"The things I like about Sammy being a bookworm are:
"1. He's too busy reading to notice that I'm playing with his sticky hand. (Sam: "Hey.")
"2. He's too busy to notice that I'm playing with his stuffed animals. (Sam: "Hey!")
"3. He doesn't see me take the toys off his bed." (Sam: "HEY!")

Benjamin (L) and Samuel (R) showing off the awards they received at the school's annual awards ceremony.

big word

Samuel described the game he played at church:
"I was supposed to close my eyes and choose one, but I kept my eyes open and chose this."
"Sacrament? Why did you choose sacrament?" I asked.
"I couldn't read it. I just like big words!" he replied.

He's definitely my son. I like big words, too.

-MR