1 Mother 2 Another

Maddie is usually the most difficult
member of the household to wake up. On school days Cora and I end
up in Maddie’s room, snuggled in her bed for a few moments
before we get up and get moving. Once Cora’s up she’s
up and moving and she’ll be dressed and downstairs in two
minutes; Maddie takes exponentially longer and will often come
sliding into her seat with sixty seconds to gulp down oatmeal
before we leave.


Sometimes, though, she wakes up for whatever reason, and
occasionally she’s startled me when I’m downstairs
thinking I’m the only one in the house awake; I’ll be
doing my devotional or packing lunches and Maddie will pad silently
up to me, fully clothed and smiling with pride. These are the
mornings I live for.


Yesterday was such a morning.

Maddie had a horrible night with bad
dreams that drove her into our room, and I think she heard me get
up and moving. Sure enough, she crept into our office while I was
checking email and snuggled up, fully dressed and alert. When I
went upstairs to get Cora up, Maddie stayed down.


I heard odd sounds from downstairs but couldn’t give it much
attention; Cora’s had a very hard week at school and needed a
little extra love to get moving. But when I finally came downstairs
I saw Maddie standing on a stool in front of our wall-mounted
microwave, holding a cereal bowl in each hand.


“Who wants oatmeal for breakfast?” she smiled proudly.


This was the point at which I realized we’ve never talked
with the girls about what you can – say, glassware –
and cannot – say, metal or wood – put in the microwave.


But I didn’t want to rain on Maddie’s parade by
panicking immediately, so I smiled brightly and said, “Hey,
look at you! Thanks so much for making breakfast! Tell me all about
it.”


“Well,” Maddie preened, “I measured out the
oatmeal and the milk and then put the bowls in the microwave. I
wasn’t sure how long to cook it, so I started with fifteen
seconds, then did five more, then one.”


I looked at the cold bowls.


“You did a FANTASTIC job,” I said. “Let’s
just put them in the microwave a bi tlonger.”


And you know what? She DID do a fantastic job. Maddie had found the
oats, and the right measuring cup, and the right bowls, and stirred
them, and everything. She’d even gotten the girls’
vitamins out. So as we continued the morning I chatted about how
long the food should cook, and casually threw in the whole
“what not to put in the microwave” lesson. As Maddie
sat down to eat, you could see her satisfaction with eating
something she’d prepared herself.


I way underestimated that kid – she’d noticed a lot,
and made smart choices when she wasn’t sure about something.


Is it too much to hope she’ll be up and cooking again this
morning?