Clara is closing in on her 3rd birthday and she has a lot to say. Some recent interactions:
Riding the elevator to the basement.
CLARA: Who are you calling, Mama?
ME: (no phone in hand) No one. Who are you calling?
CLARA: Yellow.
ME: Who's Yellow?
CLARA: (coy) He's my boyfriend. (pause) He's coming to my birthday party.
I look forward to meeting the mysterious Yellow.
Early morning, I am sitting on the sofa trying to enjoy a cup of coffee. Clara wants me to play with her and her entreaties quickly escalate as she slaps me on the face with a peremptory: "Play with me NOW, MAMA!."
This not being the best time of day to get slapped in the face...(when is it ever, really?) I order her to her room and tell her to play by herself because I don't like being hit. My voice was raised, Clara left.
Three minutes later Clara returns quietly to the living room.
CLARA: Would you like to hear a song, Mama?
ME: That would be nice.
CLARA: (singing a song from Daniel Tiger) If you feel so mad that you want to roar, take a deep breath (takes a deep breath) and count to four. (pause, Clara contemplates me for a moment) Now you should sing that song, Mama.
I thought Daniel Tiger's songs about social interaction were for the toddlers...clearly, Clara feels differently.
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