Every day, we send Lucy off to have her own life for 8-9 hours. It's the choice we've made, and it works for us. But occasionally it breaks my heart. Particularly when I ask her, "Lu, what did you do today?" And she mumbles, "I don't know" or "Nothing."
I don't know?! Nothing?! These are the sullen answers of a 12-year-old. Where is the enthusiasm? Where is the childish detail? Where is the information about her secret life?
Then I read something. Or heard it on NPR. Or Liz told me to do it. Whatever the source, this simple question has opened up a new pipeline of info from Lu: Tell me the Two Best Things That Happened to You Today. Actually the Internet/NPR/Liz said to ask about the two best AND worst things, but I thought I would start with the best and see how much information I could glean. The answer: a lot.
Since I have started asking the Two Best question a week ago, she has offered the following, among others:
"When we got to do stretching."
"When I got picked up by Alex's mom for a play date at her house."
"When we watered our tomato plants."
"When I got to go to the Farmer's Market with Laney."
"When we got ice cream with one piece of bubble gum in it."
"When we talked about the weather in Spanish. ¡Esta nublando!"
"When we got to blow up a bunch of balloons for Anesh, and Anesh's dad came to pick them up so he could bring them to Anesh at the hospital." This came today, and while we hope to soon find out what is wrong with Anesh, without the Two Things, I would not have known even this much. Get well, little man.
It's interesting how often she uses the phrase "got to," as in "allowed to," which explains how at the mercy of other people you are when you're four. She is at the mercy of me, her teachers, all adults. How sad for her. Meanwhile, I am at the mercy of THE MAN. THE LAW. THE PRICE OF GAS.
I would kill to be four. Her Two Best Things always beat mine.