Smelling like Lollipops

I spent the other day with a spunky little girl and found myself laughing hysterically, inside and out, at life through her eyes. It was surprisingly refreshing...and simultaneously terrifying...to realize just how many things had slipped from my consciousness as a grownup. And here was this little person who was like me minus all the baggage. How strange to look at her and feel, in one instance, so removed, and in the next, so oddly akin. And how the heck had I forgotten about stick-on earrings??

Our day consisted of many activities. We played "Pretty, Pretty, Princess" after I promised to exclude the evil witch pawn, Maleficent (aka the "bad guy"), from participating on any level. I chuckled as I observed all the princess pawns dressed in pastel gowns and the witch in black. I didn't have the heart to tell her that when she became old enough to read Vogue, black would be the new pink.

We had many funny conversations. It was a new and strange thing to talk so much to a child. Some declarations from her surprised and amused me. Others posed the potential for great embarrassment, like when she told me a woman, still within hearing range, smelled like...lollipops. There was a brief moment, before she finished her observation, in which I imagined myself apologizing to the Amish woman. But, thankfully, she smelled like candy and not something else.

Yet, another time she emphatically assured a stranger that I was not her mommy. Apparently, I didn't appear to be a kidnapper or social deviant, as the stranger let us go without reaching for his cell to report an Amber Alert sighting.

Then, in one of our deeper conversations, she most earnestly shared her feelings on life with "old" people (a category in which I was unfortunately included, as I am in the double digits).

"I'm with my Mommy all day..." she said.

"That's wonderful!" I responded.

She looked surprised and insisted. "But it's boring...don't you think it's boring to be with your Mommy all day?"

Her mommy, a close friend of mine, was a great mom and one of the most interesting people I know. But, then again, I was not four years old. I stretched to imagine her utopia. No stuffy grownups. A tower of toys. Rooms and backyards full of cherub-faced comrades. And an endless supply of cupcakes, cookies and, yes, lollipops. I paused, considering my response a bit more carefully...

"Well, you know, when you get older, you will probably move away and you won't see your Mommy quite as much anymore. And you will wish you had more days to spend just you and her...So, you really are lucky to have your Mommy everyday."

She still wasn't convinced.

"But why do grown-ups always have to work and do dishes. Daddy always say he can't play because he has to do the dishes?" Ha! Now, Mommies were boring and Daddies, workaholics! Had somebody signed me up for the preschool debate team without my consent??

"Well," I breathed. (Not having kids of my own yet, I really wasn't very confident in my children-nese.) "Grownups do have a lot to do. They work and take care of you. So, they have to do dishes and laundry and things like that"........dramatic pause (I know the answer will come to me).......

"Just imagine if they didn't clean the dishes or wash the clothes. You wouldn't have any clean dishes. And you wouldn't have any clean clothes to wear."

"And then I'd be naked," she said matter-of-factly and with a laugh in her voice...as the word naked still makes grown men chuckle in spite of themselves.

"Exactly!!" Gotcha! I had won the debate...for the moment.
Because, grownups + no work/dishes/laundry = naked people running around.
What a world that would be!


Thus after exchanging manis and pedis, playing house and salon and watching Toy Story....twice....I experienced the following revelations at the end of a long day with a four year old:

I played and won "Pretty, Pretty Princess" for the first time in a long time. (Okay, we both "won.) But, I was also reminded of what a simpler place the world is without bad guys.

I realized I haven't given much thought to lollipops recently, except for their caloric content...but I sure hope I smell like one.

I decided to try spending a little more time playing and a little less time working. As long as we're not running around naked, some dirty laundry and a few dishes won't make or break us.

And, last, and most important of all...
Mommy, if I've ever called you boring, I'm sorry! I love you so much!! You are anything but boring. And I cherish every moment we get to spend together, because I understand (as it often takes til we're grownup to do) that they don't go on forever and ever...to infinity and beyond.