Elaine began showing cold-symptoms on Friday night. She couldn’t go to preschool today because she had a lingering cough and stuffy nose. Since she was caged inside the house all weekend, we took a short trip to the beach for some sunshine. (Plus, the weather’s been unusually warm (70s-80s)). She enjoys playing in the sand, often rolling and crawling on it. One hour flies by when she’s playing with her bucket full of water and sand, stirring the mixture and scooping a shovel-full for us to “eat,” and by the time we have to go home, she wants to take sand home. I told her she could take it home as long as she could hold it in her hand. She tried piling as much as she could in her tiny palm as most of it slipped between her fingers. Again and again she scooped and tried to hold onto it, but she eventually realized she couldn’t hold much of her beloved sand in her hand so it wasn’t worth taking. That was my art of manipulation. With kids, you learn to choose your battles. “Let’s get changed.” [runs away]. [chase after the kid, yell, or wait]. Some days I chase her, some days I yell, some days I wait. Sometimes I lose, sometimes I win, and that’s how it goes. Today, I won. ;)
