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Week 277: Devils, Antagonization, and Ice Cream May 19, 2009
I am often confused and frightened by the things that Sam picks up. I came home from work the other day to her excited announcement that she "has a devil on her shoulder." Noting the lack of an actual imp on her person, I took her to mean it metaphorically, and was thankfully right. She's like a cartoon character arguing with the little devil and angel in her ears telling her what to do, except in Sam's case the little angel dude is conspicuously absent from her fantasy.
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Now, whenever Sam does something naughty, she'll shriek, "I've got a devil on my shoulder HA HA!" and swat at this imaginary purveyor of temptation. What's even more unsettling is when she's just sitting there, quietly thinking about something, and then suddenly blurts the same thing out. It's somehow worse not knowing about something she was just thinking about doing.
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As far as Mandy goes, I think she too is making room for a little devilry in her life. She's at a point now where she apparently takes great joy in antagonizing her sister. Sam will be sitting and doing something like coloring or watching a show and Mandy will march over and start nudging Sam with her foot or poking her like a little scientist mixing chemical compounds until some kind of explosive reaction is achieved. She's even sly enough to then burst into tears and cry "Sister's mad at me!" while running to the nearest parent. If her mission was just get attention of any sort, she's learned to execute it masterfully.
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But as exasperating as they can be, my girls can also be really, really sweet. Mandy has learned to say "I love you" and she says it often. And the other morning I had gotten up a bit early to have some free time to myself before going to work when Sam wandered downstairs, obviously still half asleep. When I groaned and demanded to know why she was up at 6:20 in the morning, she walked over to lean against me before saying "I just wanted to spend some time with you before you went to work."
So we sat and talked softly over peanut butter, bagels, juice, and coffee while everybody else in the house slept, including the little devil on her shoulder. It was an awesome start to the day.
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Parenting
Tags: Amanda, Parenting, Samantha
Comments
Posted by shawn on May 19, 2009 8:41 PM:
Aww!
Posted by Patti on May 20, 2009 10:36 AM:
Eating lunch. Tearing up.