History has proven that in my family, when it rains, it pours. Much to my dismay, we don’t do things one at a time. In the last 30 days, my toddler started a new daycare, my husband started a new job, we sold our house and moved and my mom has sold and moved as well. Fan-freaking-tastic.
I like the idea of change, but having so much of it in a short span is sprouting new gray hairs. I know everyone is busy, so I’m preaching to the choir here. And really my husband and I are adjusting just fine.
It’s my 3-year-old I’m concerned about. How do you explain to a toddler that she is moving daycares and houses and even stepping up to a big girl bed but everything else will stay the same? I’ve been trying to help her through the changes while also relaying the importance of going to bed on time without yelling for a drink of water (which is right next to her bed), a bathroom trip (where she always seems to produce a little tinkle) or to report a noise.
I have instilled the help of “The Sleep Fairy,” which if you haven’t read, you should. To my princess-obsessed daughter, the idea that a fairy comes down in her sleep to give her a present is worth laying in bed and going right to sleep. About every third night, anyway.
I thought she was adjusting well until I received some recent artwork from her new daycare.
Their project was the toddler version of Pinterest.com (if you haven’t discovered this site yet, go. Now). Apparently, the teachers sat with her and she pointed to items in a magazine that she loved and they cut them out and glued them on this sheet. How adorable is that? (And why haven’t I thought of it?)
It all seems pretty normal and when she was explaining it to me it made sense. Of course, you love horses because your older (and very cool) cousin likes them. We have a cat. You had Rice Krispie treats the day before. Who doesn’t love flowers and kites?
But what is the cool-looking cabin in the upper left corner?
“That’s a dark place,” she says.
“A what?”
“A dark place, Mama.”
Of course, it is. Maybe we have bigger issues than just going to sleep.
Melissa Cruickshank is married with a daughter. She works full-time. Read her every other Thursday on momaha.com.
