The Pinch

I have to say, as difficult as it is to be raising a “threenager” I really do think this age is the most fun I’ve ever had with Charlotte.  Sure, she makes me crazy with her wardrobe demands and her affinity for not eating any nutritious food, but she is honestly so funny and loving that I find myself laughing with her every day as opposed to wanting to crawl into the corner and weep.

An example.  The other day I had to take her for blood work for school, and while I was a nervous wreck the entire day waiting for the inevitable, she was actually pretty chill about the whole thing, and has now turned the events of the “pinch” (as she calls it) into a game.  Last night she got out her little Doc McStuffins doctor bag and told me that I would be the patient and she would be the doctor.  She had me lay down and put a blanket over me and took out the toy needle and said “OK I’m just going to give you a little pinch! It’s gonna hurt but you be OK!” and then proceeded to violently jab me with the needle, so my reaction of pain was not feigned.  She looked at me with pure glee in her eyes (I guess hurting me was her payback for me taking her for the blood work) but then she came over and said “it’s okay mommy! I’m not the doctor anymore, I’m Char now, and I kiss it and make it better.”  She did this about 25 times and for some reason I didn’t get sick of it because it was just SO sweet.  I like how she took an experience she had that was less than fun for her and turned it into a game and a way to express her kind side.  She does this with a lot of things, and these moments are when I forget about the tough aspects of this age and really embrace the good ones.

Also, as an aside, today is “red day” at her school and we, of course, did not have one single item of red clothing.  So I was totally that mom rushing around stores at 6:45 last night looking for something red and could only find one polo shirt in her size that she definitely isn’t going to wear and now I really understand why parents hate “theme days” because it’s so easy to forget about it until the last minute.  Because you’ll spend your night time hours looking for stuff for theme day and then your kid will probably just throw a fit and wear the same shirt she’s worn for the past 3 days anyway.  Fun times.