There haven’t been any conversations with Coco that I’ve wanted to write about lately. Now if I wanted to write about arguments with Coco there would be an abundance of ripe material. Maybe I will someday…I’m sure it would amuse everybody but me. I’m usually at the end of my rope and ready to check in for a straight jacket–for myself, of course. So arguments aren’t funny on those days.
The other day was just such a straight-jacket sort of day. Coco was extremely difficult. When I would tell her she was being difficult she’d chirp out some matter of fact, trite little saying:
“Sorry, Mom, sometimes kids just do fill-in-the-blank.”
Yah, clever, I’ll give her that. But I hear it all day long and you can pretty much use that formula for anything.
“Coco! Don’t shred your sandwich all over the table!”
“Sorry, Mom, but sometimes kids just shred their sandwiches.”
Oh well in that case, by all means—carry on!
“Coco! Stay out of my makeup!”
“Mom, sometimes kids like to play with their mommy’s makeup.”
You don’t say.
“Coco! Get off of your brother!”
“Sorry, Mom, but sometimes kids need to sit on their brothers.”
And so on and so forth and yah, that’s what she uses for everything! I know this will be one of those little sayings that we all joke about when she’s in college or something. We’ll sit around at Denny’s and tell her friends what a clever little rascal she was.
And then “sometimes kids…” will become the school catch phrase or the name of a band or a brand of clothing. I don’t know–just planning ahead.
But right now, in the heat of the moment, it’s freaking annoying.
It’s such a strategic way to piss me off and leave me searching for the right response. So the other day, I had HAD it with her and her odious logic. I GLADLY put her to bed an hour early. And I RUSHED through the nighttime ritual of songs and prayers. In fact, we only had one song, and I didn’t even pray. I just wanted to get out of there without getting into another argument.
But I did want her to know that–as frustrated as I get with her–I love her. And I think that she wanted me to know that– as frustrated as she gets with me–she loves me. So she blew me away with the perfect end of any mother’s day.
Me: “Coco, you know I love you right?”
Coco: “Mmm hmm.”
Me (whispering): “I love you to the moon and back.”
Coco (whispering): “I love you to Jesus and back…Wait, actually I love you to God and back!”
Sometimes kids say it better than you could ever even hope for.
oh my. coco that last little line make me tear up! She is a clever little thing! Puts it right to perspective too. LOVE YOU BOTH!