1 Mother 2 Another

Maddie’s begun to show tiny hints
that she’ll soon realize Mommy’s word isn’t
Immutable Law: that just because it comes out of my mouth, it
ain’t necessarily Gold.


Yesterday we went to our church’s mid-week service with our
small home group. Brian’s worship leader and is there every
week, but Maddie and I rarely go because it’s in such close
proximity to bedtime. During the day I was preparing Maddie for the
evening outing – a trip she usually loves, because she adores
our church nursery and always loves hearing her daddy sing.

So I told Madeleine that we were going to
church with Daddy that night, and wouldn’t it be fun?


“Church?” she asked interestedly.


“Yes, church! You love going to church!” I answered.


“Nursery?” she continued.


“Yes, honey, you’ll get to play in the nursery. You
love the nursery.”


“Friends?”


This one stumped me for a second; Maddie’s never really used
that word in a way that shows she understands the concept.


“Um, yes, honey, there will be friends there!” I
affirmed, hoping I wasn’t lying.


“Maddie’s friends?” she pressed. My kid’s a
tough interrogator.


“Sure, sweetheart, your friends! Won’t it be
great?” I faltered. Who is this kid, and what’s with
the third degree??


“Who?” my child asked with what can only be called
skepticism.


Where did this come from? What happened to the child whose favorite
phrase was, “Ok, mommy”? What have I ever done to earn
this degree of distrust? I’ve never tricked her into eating
something she hates or lied to her about a trip to the doctor or
anything remotely similar.


I did what any self-respecting, desperate mommy would do: I changed
the subject.


“Look! I think Elmo’s lonely!”


Works every time.