7 Little Words… Great, Big Smiles

The other night I crawled into my daughter’s bed, put my arm around her and did something I haven’t done in awhile. It was part of our bedtime routine for years until my ailing father came to live with us and displaced my daughter from her own Tinkerbell room to share one with her younger brother.

“What was your favorite part of today?” I whispered into the dark.

“Seeing Calista,” she answered with a smile in her voice. “And Mr. Fox.”

We held each other close as we listed our favorite daughter, favorite mommy, favorite brother, and favorite daddy. This is something we used to do every night, back when her younger brother still slept in her old crib and before my parenting role unexpectedly extended to caring for her grandfather.

Things do not come easy for my little girl. She walked late, talked late, and now struggles with school work. Asking my daughter her favorite part of the day became a touchstone for both of us, a single moment each day when everything else fell away and we reveled in what brought us joy.

Earlier in the day, someone made my daughter cry. Don’t get me wrong, the kid is no stranger to tears. A sharp word, a troublesome brother, a playmate at school, and math homework have all made my daughter cry and likely will again. But today it was an adult, and the hurt came as a shock.

When I turned off my daughter’s light that night, I took a chance asking about the day. (Lately she has tended to dwell on the negative.) I wondered: by not asking her “favorite part” of the day these past months, have I made it harder for her to forget the hurtful parts? I’m glad we’ve rediscovered our touchstone, a moment to share what makes us happy and to open the door to sweet dreams.

Brandy has joined the ranks of our fabulous local bloggers! Look for more of her posts (under SactoWriteMama).