My Natalie likes to make people happy.
She discovered that words can make people happy and diffuse tough situations.
Yesterday, when she demonstrated that she could put her shirt on by herself - which both excited and saddened me - she said "I can do it myself."
"You don't need me?!" I asked, and she heard some sadness in my voice.
She pulled the shirt over her head and stuck her right arm through the right sleeve.
"Well," she said, "you can help me with this one." She let me guide her left arm through the left sleeve.
Today, shenanigans in the living room earned her a small swat on the bum. She came into the kitchen, where I was, and looked at me in a way that told me something was wrong.
"What happened?" I asked. "Are you hurt?"
"No," she said. "Daddy pank my bum."
"Oh. Did you do something bad?" I asked.
"No," she said. "Daddy did." Expertly ignoring her own misbehavior, she pinned the cause of her distress on her father. Which, from her point of view, was probably accurate.
Natalie is not a liar - she's too young to really grasp the importance of truth. However... She flexes reality until it serves her well. She'll say whatever she thinks is the right answer for me to hear.
Not long ago, she had a red spot on her lip where I'd seen her picking at her skin.
"What happened to your lip?" I asked. "Were you picking at it?"
"No, I think Sam was," she said.
When I told her Sam was probably never picking at her lips, she said nothing. No need to defend herself. A quick answer to deflect correction was the obvious choice! No matter if Mom wasn't fooled.
She's a resilient little girl. I adore her and I learn a lot from her. And I have no doubt she will be an excellent, honest woman.
