Okay, so it wasn't quite that emphatic. But tonight I had to hear it from both kids, and that's a first. Elena has finally started to speak the word "no," and she says it repeatedly and with great enthusiasm. As in:
"Let's change your diaper."
"No!"
"Time to get dressed, honey."
"No, no!"
"Get down from there, that's dangerous-"
"NO!"
"Please stop drinking your bath water!"
"NO NO NO!!!"
And then there's Avery. Tonight I read stories with her, as I always do, then turned out the light and put on her bedtime music, which is Enya's first solo album. Normally I lie down and snuggle with her for at least a few minutes, then tell her I need to go downstairs and clean up and I will check on her in five minutes. And when I go back up to check on her after a generous five minutes, she's normally fast asleep. I enjoy and look forward to this ritual. It's a bright spot in my day. There's that few minutes where we're done with stories and she's just talking and telling me about her day or about something she's thinking about, and I feel completely peaceful, like everything in the world is just fine. I like my few minutes of delusion, okay? Tonight, for the first time ever, she turned to me when track #3 (her favorite) started playing, and told me she'd like to be alone. Well.
I dutifully kissed her cheek, said my I love you's and bid her goodnight, promising to check on her in a few minutes but knowing she wouldn't need me to.
It's too soon. I'm not ready, dammit.
:-)
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