The world according to my little girl

My little-est has boundless energy, twinkles galore and mischief in her eyes. She sings and bounces all day long. She has opinions, good taste( currently planning a Christmas party with themes in black and white or red and green) and um, well, more opinions with a little delegating involved, especially when it comes to me – her happy helpful mummy. The general view with any holiday- and let me tell you it is not a bi-partisan one – is that mummy cooks, she decorates and we have ourselves one jolly party. Most of these thoughts or opinions are generally expressed during quiet times when her older sister is missing and she has me all to herself. One such conversation took place while folding a bit of laundry.

Flicking my hair back, I said, “maybe I need a hair cut, daddy sometimes likes my hair short.” …

My little girl: “well, mummy, men are like that sometimes, they don’t know what they want. You don’t have to cut it, It looks pretty just as it is.”

Me: “Oh thanks darling, that’s lovely of you to say.”

Mlg: “Yes, it is lovely of me isn’t it?” ( not short on confidence, really) “I don’t want to cut my hair for daddy or anyone, can’t I just do what I want?”

Me: “Well, er, not right now. When you are a bit older, perhaps, you can decide what you would like to do with your um, hair..

Mlg: “Oookay, a little bit awkward now, can we talk about something else?”

Me: “Sure, anything else on your mind?”

Mlg: “Hmmm,( very dramatically) let’s see… mummy, you know I love food?” “I just can’t help myself, and you know when we go out and you ask me to be good and not take too many chocolates or cookies,” “it’s a bit unfair because I just love food so much that I want to take more than I’m allowed.”

“I think I’m going to be a chef like G” ( best friend’s dad)

Me: “Well, you know how your tummy makes odd noises when you’ve had too much to eat, that’s not very pleasant is it? sometimes one or two is all we need.”

“Oh I would love you to be a chef, you can cook me some really nice meals and I can take a break from the kitchen.”

( clearly not happy with that one, looks at me as if I’ve lost my marbles)

Mlg: “Why can’t I fly like a fairy, mum?”

Me: “Well, they’re extremely tiny and born out of a baby’s first laugh( I heard it on Tinkerbell, before anyone laughs at me), so maybe there is a fairy out there born out of your first chuckle.” “Perhaps, if you’re really good, you might meet one and she might lend you some pixie dust.”

Mlg: “Oh mummy( shakes her head) you’re a silly, that’s just in the movies..”

Me: “Oh um right, yes, of course.”

Mlg: “Mummy, why do you get excited when you see Colin Firth?” (definitely not expecting that, nor that she would remember his name) “remember we watched him on the red carpet? I liked the pretty dresses everyone wore.” “There was this one dress that was red and one was in white, when can I dress like that?” “They were so sparkly.”

Me: “Well, you know I enjoy Colin Firth’s films, do I really seem excited?( nods head vehemently) um, um, he’s a very good actor.” “Was the red dress your favorite?”( when in doubt, always answer a question with a question)

Mlg: “Why do you sometimes drink wine, mum?” “I thought it was bad for you.” ( N.B. it was a statement, not a question)

Me: “It isn’t very good if you drink too much darling, I enjoy a glass every now and then.”

MLg:  “Eeuuww, it smells very strange…”

MLg: “Why do people burp out loud after they’ve had a really good meal?”

Me: “Perhaps it didn’t agree with them.. or perhaps they enjoyed it a little too much

Mlg: or maybe it’s just gas…

Me: “Hmmm, maybe.”

Mlg: “Mummy, Oliver says there is no Santa Claus, is it true? he says, he spied his parents leaving presents.”

Me: “Oh well,( I was all over this one) you know how Santa doesn’t visit until all children are sound asleep.” “Maybe his parents were just leaving him their own gifts.” To which my husband adds.. Oliver might just be naughty, you know how Santa makes his list? ( we really didn’t need that).

Mlg: “No, no, he said, there was no Santa, seriously, for sure.”

Me: (Trying to move on) shall we make some cookies before Christmas?

Mlg: oh yes! yes please, yummy. I’ll help you…

and that is how we moved on. It was a very interesting chat, I couldn’t help but giggle at a few, although I tried to maintain a fully serious expression. It was after all, important stuff.