A Small Mouse And A Tragic Breakfast

Two Katarina stories.

Bedtime:
After I told Katarina that she couldn't stay up late reading, I tucked her in, and arranged her pillows in a perfect comfy pile. I said, "You have to sleep so you can be healthy, and grow, and be taller."

"I don't want to grow. I don't want to be tall. I don't...well, I do want to be healhty, but I can do that by eating right. I want to be small. I want to be Kermit-sized. Or the size of a mouse. A small mouse. So I should stay up and read more, now, to achieve that goal."


This Morning, After Breakfast:
This is what Katarina told me when I told her she needed to go put her cereal bowl in the sink.

"Mom. Let me tell you a story.

It is a story about a girl who is very tired.

Actually it is a very sad story. Almost tragic.

This girl is very tired, and she has a mom who is much more awake. But her mom won't come put her breakfast bowl away for her.

(At this point in the story there was incredibly loud, fake wailing.)

I think this is the saddest story ever told, and should never be heard again. Only you can prevent the tragedy.

Only you."

It is really hard to be a serious mom when conversations like this happen every day.