Mini-Me

This morning was rough. For the past three days, Thomas has wanted to wear his Thomas the Tank Engine pajamas all day, and I need him to wear real clothes to school so he doesn't mess up his beloved shirt. So we fight, I get clothes on him and eventually it all works out.

Well, today he decided he wanted to wear his Thomas the Tank sandals. Normally, that would be just fine, but he can't wear open-toed shoes at daycare, where they are outside running and playing all day and could trip. He wouldn't choose another shoe, so I started to put on his brown sandals with a closed toe. He was screaming and making quite the scene.

Enter Anne Marie. She sees her brother, and bursts into tears.

"Can't you see he wants his spiderman shoes?" she sobs. "Why won't you let him wear them?" She comforts her brother, holding him and saying, "Don't worry- I'll get mama to put on your spiderman shoes. It will be OK. It's OK."

Eventually, Thomas agreed to wear Spiderman shoes and Elmo socks (as a side note, how can two kids without access to any tv but netflix get so character-conscious?). I relayed the story to my mom who said, "See how hard it is to raise a mother?"

She was implying that I, like Anne Marie, spent a lot of my childhood "mothering" others. I'm a little bit bossy, a little bit controlling, and a whole lot worried about whether others around me are treated appropriately and behaving themselves. Like mother, like daughter.


It might sound a bit cocky, but I love that Anne Marie is a lot like me, even in the ways that drive me crazy, like when I feel like I have a mini mother around- always checking to make sure I have my seatbelt buckled and telling me to make sure I don't hit anything when I am driving.

I love that she is in her own world a lot of the time. It drives me crazy when it takes forever for us to go anywhere, but I understand her elaborate games of pretend that make up much of her life. I remember trying to hike ahead of my family when I was little just so I could better create my fantasy of walking through the woods as a pioneer like Laura Ingalls. I lowered dolls out of our house window playing "escape from the orphanage." I look in her eyes when she is playing by herself, and I know these are the things that are going through her head.

From Drop Box

This, for example, is a crown, fairy wings and a wand. I love that it works for her, and that she doesn't need something more realistic to play.

Of course, she's different from me in a lot of ways too. I have a really hard time being patient about her fears, and I am still struggling to accept that she might like a different type of sport than I did growing up.

But, with all the similarities and differences, I just love that little girl.

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The prompt was: We often spend time and energy talking about people in our lives we don’t see enough of. Describe a person in your life you are in contact with often. What does he/she mean to you?