Emi had a tough day yesterday. She didn't stay up too late on Halloween night and didn't even consume any extra sugar (which tells you more about her normal daily sugar intake rather than our willpower), but all day at preschool she was complain-y and out of sorts. To top it all off, she tripped while running through the playground and smashed her nose into the woodchips. Her poor nose and upper lip were cut up and tender, and with her big watery eyes, she looked like an abused Precious Moments character.
She braved through dinner but fell asleep in the car on the way home. We laid her down and had the first sane evening in a loooooooong time! We got to talk and goof around with Isaac, and he actually opened up a bit! It reminded me of a time, two lifetimes ago, when we lived in the basement of some dank Oakland Craftsman, our new little family of three giggling under dim, dusty lamplight. So much has changed since then, 99% of it for the better, but I will always think back on those days as precious and pure.
Isaac eventually went to bed himself, and at around 10:00, Emi woke up an utter wreck. Her nose was swollen and all she could do was cry. Eventually we figured out that she needed to go potty and was overall feeling extremely sorry for herself, so Tim gave Emi his place in the bed and he marched off to sleep in her bunk (but only after reading from her current favorite book, Usagi Yojimbo). It has only been a couple months since Emi started sleeping in her own bed, but it was still nice to feel her snuggle up to me.
She looked deep into my eyes and said, "Close your eyes, don't be sad." I smiled and told her that I wasn't sad, I was just a little nervous about her nose. She replied, "MOM, I said don't be SAD." Which I took to mean "Look sad so I can comfort you" and so I did. Then she stroked my head until she fell asleep.
