Something to make us happy

You know those days of 3 year old-ish-ness that make you want to tear your hair out? Sometimes it lasts all day, sometimes it's just a moment or two....but nonetheless, it's hard. Yesterday we had some of those moments. You see, Sophie doesn't like to wake up. Period. Whether it's in the morning or after a nap (once every blue moon these happen), she's cranky. I've learned to leave her in her room in the mornings for quite a while after she wakes, to give her time to sort of ease into the idea of being awake. It kind of works. But anyways, yesterday she took a power nap in the car and woke up, well, extremely cranky. And once she enters this zone of crankiness, it's mighty hard to turn the boat around. Crying about anything and everything, she'll tell you she wants something then immediately screams "No, no, no! I don't like that!" when you try to fulfill her request. She wants to be held (oh won't this be fun in two months after baby #2 is born), but she doesn't want a hug. She wants something to eat, but when you offer up choices, everything is a no. On my good, rested, I can do anything days, I'm able to laugh about the ridiculousness of her mood. Yesterday, I was a little too exhausted for laughing. So instead, in the calmest voice I could muster, I got down to her level, looked her straight in the eye and said "Sophie, WHAT would make you happy right now???". I fully expected her to scream "Nothing!" and cry even louder. But instead, she paused, looked right back at me, and said "My Care Bears". Wow. An easy solution. All three aforementioned items were ten feet from us on the floor, so I politely suggested she go get them. This brought about more tears as she demanded I get them for her. My patience had reached its limit. "No", I said, "if you want your Care Bears, they are right there...you can go get them." Tears, drama, more insanity. But I wasn't going to budge. She had two legs and was fully capable of getting them herself. End of story. The clouds finally parted at some point that evening and we reached a level of acceptable normalcy. I don't remember what actually happened to get us there, but we arrived.

Tonight, as we stood in the living room together, Sophie asked me quietly "Mommy, what are you doing with your eyes?". "I'm crying because I'm sad," I said. She gave me one of the most tender hugs, and then said "Maybe there is something that can make you happy. Maybe my Care Bear can make you happy!" and she ran off into the other room. Seconds later, she appeared with her most beloved Care Bear (Funshine...the yellow one) and with a huge grin on her face, offered it and another hug to me as I wiped my tears. At this point the origin of my tears had turned from sadness to extreme pride and love for my moody yet thoughtful daughter. I am overwhelmed with joy, and SHE is something that makes me incredibly happy.