Last night as Madeleine was getting ready for bed, she was suddenly struck by the injustice of her current living situation.
MADELEINE: Mama? How come we never hear the rooster say "Cock-a-doodle-doooooo!" when it's time to wake up?
ME: Well, we don't have a rooster here, but we know it's morning when it's light out so we don't really need a rooster to wake us up.
MADELEINE: But are there NO roosters anymore to say "cock-a-doodle-doo?"
ME: No, there are roosters, just not around here. There are roosters that live on farms that might wake up farmers in the morning.
MADELEINE: (face beginning to crumple in distress) But Maaamaaa! How come WE don't have a rooster to say "cock-a-doodle-doo" at OUR house?
ME: Well, we don't live on a farm.
MADELEINE: But Maaamaaa! Why DON'T we have a farm?
ME: Well, because we live in a neighborhood with lots of houses, not on a big farm with lots of farmland.
MADELEINE: Mama? But why does our house STINK?
ME: It stinks? I don't think it stinks.
(I'm lying. I kind of do think it stinks, but I don't want my kids growing up feeling the need to live in a mansion rather than just being grateful for the roof above their heads and the happy home and family in which they live.)
MADELEINE: It DOES stink. It's too SQUISHED.
ME: What do you mean? We have plenty of space.
(Again, I'm lying. But again, it's all relative. Compared to many of our neighbors, our house is cramped. Compared to much lower income areas, our house is a palace.)
MADELEINE: No, it's SQUISHED because all the HOUSES are so SQUISHED together and there's no room for FARMS.
ME: Why do you want a farm?
MADELEINE: Because. I want to be a farmer and have a rooster that says "Cock-a-doodle-dooooo!"
ME: Well, maybe when you grow up, you can be a farmer.
MADELEINE: Uh, no, I don't want to. I want to be a TEACHER that teaches swim lessons when I grow up.
ME: Oh. Well, that sounds like a fun job.
MADELEINE: Yeah. Because I love swimming SO MUCH!
And with that, she was able to get over her rooster envy. Which is good, because the kids ALREADY wake me up too damn early every day. I don't need a meddlesome rooster crowing the moment the sky begins to lighten.
Julia is thinking less about her own wants and more about the wants of others lately, as she begins her home-made Christmas gift extravaganza. She has already wrapped several creations and hidden them under her bed, including a "Fashion Mix and Match" for Madeleine, to which she taped various articles of clothing that can be un-taped and switched around to go with the two female heads she drew. Today Julia was hard at work on a "Gesing Game" for her sister, and came up with a brilliant idea in the event of being caught in the act of making a gift.
JULIA: (whispering to me) Mom. I have a great idea. If Madeleine comes in and asks what I'm doing, I'll say: "I'm working on a school project." And if she says, "But why does it say 'to Madeleine?,' I'll say: 'because it's a project about Saint Madeleine!' Isn't that a good idea?"
Instead, Madeleine wound up having an entirely different question, as I overheard Julia saying defensively to her sister: "What? Haven't you ever heard of WRAPPING a school project in Christmas wrapping paper before?!?"
With 44 days left until Christmas, there is an abundance of opportunity for Julia to add to her gift collection. I can't WAIT to see what she has made for me. And maybe, if Madeleine is lucky, Julia will make her a rooster that can wake us up by saying "Cock-a-doodle-dooooo!" every morning!
I sure hope Julia can't manage to make that for Madeleine - especially since there are two roosters to do that job already in the house! Except that instead of saying "Cock-a-doodle-doo!" they say "Caitlyn. Caitlyn. Caitlyn. Caitlyn. Caitlyn. Do you know what I was thinking? Remember last night when you said you wouldn't want to be a Police Officer for a job? Well, I was thinking that you would actually be a pretty GOOD Police Officer because you have such a good ponytail" Which...if you ask me, is WAY better.
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