Just Like Mommy

Allyssa puts on my shoes, pretends to put on make-up, cooks, sweeps...all of it is "just like Mommy." A child after my own heart, I tell ya. The other day she said, "I want the cheapest one." I'm not sure what she wanted, but at least she knew which one to pick...the cheapest one, just like Mommy.

Today we went to several stores and because the H1N1 is around here, I decided that it would be a good idea to wash mine and Allyssa's hands each time we made it back to the car. Each time, as I washed her hands, Allyssa would say, "We don't touch people." I might be creating a child who is a funny about germs as I am, but during flu season, we really shouldn't touch people, well, some people are okay. :)

Also, today, Allyssa was playing with her toy train. She was trying very hard to tell me something very important, but it took a while for me to understand. She was saying, "I have one train." Yup. She sure did. "I have one train." Okay, so I'll tell her she's right. "That's right, Allyssa, you have one train." A: "I have just one train." Me: "That's right." A: "A man took the other one." Oh, that's the point. She thinks a man took her other train. Nope. Not the case. The other train is in the attic with several other toys that we boxed up when we moved. Decision time: Do I just agree with her and make this moment simpler or do I tell her that it's in a box and face all the questions about where this box is and why I won't open it. Here's where I flashbacked into my own childhood. Come with me!

Flashback:
When I was a kid a little older than Allyssa (about 3), I dreamed that a distant relative of mine stole my family's concrete picnic table that was on our farm...with my uneaten sandwich on it. I was hungry, and he just came and picked up that concrete picnic table and put it in the back of his truck and drove off. I was very upset at this person for many years, all because of a dream. Several years later, I told my mom about this picnic table incident. She told me that that was so silly. She said that we never had a concrete picnic table on any of the farms and that no one ever took my lunch. She asked me to tell her more about what happened, and I told her when it happened and how old I was. I filled in as many blanks as I could. I have a really good memory, so it wasn't a problem. She was able to figure out the story. She told me that I had the dream because I was really upset at this person because of something that really did happen. When she told me what really happened with this person, it was easy to forgive. I felt badly that I went so many years being upset at a person about a dream. I honestly believed it happened though. I needed someone to help me sort through it and show me the truth so that I could forgive.

Back to today:
So I said to Allyssa, "No one took your train. It's in a box." A: "Let's go get it." Me: "I don't know where the box is." (Really I don't, you should see that attic. It is a mess. Oh, and it might be in the one box that has toys in it that is still in the garage.) That was it. She didn't ask any more. I hope that I saved her from being upset at the movers, but I have no idea how many toys she really does remember that are missing. She hasn't seen them in 3 months!