Act 1, Scene 2

Sometimes you see your child's occupation very early in their life. I happen to know that Mary is going to be a Director when she grows up. You know...the person on the set that tells other people how to act their part. She will often tell me how I should say things or act things out. I look at each of these "directions" from her as if they were a "scene". For example, every time we put her to bed she asks me, "Is this milk?". It's really a redundant question, because she can SEE that it's milk through the sippy cup. I guess the question comes up because sometimes I give her milk, and sometimes I give her water. So I do my part and answer her, "It's milk, Mary". Then she proceeds to ask that question about five more times as we shut the door and go down the stairs. It's not uncommon to hear one of us calling out "It's milk!" repeatedly, in the distance. I'm noticing this has been getting worse. Lately, she is not liking the way I answer and she'll correct my "lines" by saying, "Mommy, say "Yah!" not "It's milk!". So I go along, because frankly, it's easier, and also, it's just not worth the battle to do otherwise. Another "scene" we play is sometimes she want to SEE the milk, so I have to open the lid and show it to her. Like to prove it or something.

We even set each scene at bedtime. She must have all her props in place: Strawberry Shortcake pillow, two blankets (Winnie the Pooh and Strawberry Shortcake), her sippy cup, and whatever miscellaneous prop she decides to bring to bed that night. Tonight, she was put to bed by her grandma. For some reason, she doesn't always direct these alternate actors as finely as she directs me. She allowed grandma to put her to bed without her favorite prop, her drink. This baffles me. I would never be able to get away with such a thing. Anyway, tonight, at 3:30am (hence my odd blogging time), she mumbled through the monitor..."I can't find my drink". Like any mom who can hear anything in the middle of her deepest sleep, I jolt from the bed remembering that my mom didn't put her to sleep with her drink. I quickly fill up some milk and run upstairs to make a quick transaction so I can go back to bed. The longer these interactions are, the more likely I will not be able to go back to sleep.

Unfortunately, Mary took this opportunity to direct me on how I should be giving her the milk. Imagine having a director who doesn't speak very good English and she is trying to instruct you at 3:30 in the morning. The mind eventually gets awakened to the point of no return. "Sah it's milk, Mommy". Me-"You want to see the milk?" I exasperatingly open the sippy cup of milk and show it to her in the dark. Mary-"NO! Sah it's milk!". Me-"It's milk, Mary". Mary-"NO!!!" and this went back and forth and then she said, "Out there!"...and she pointed to the door "Open the door!" I couldn't believe that my simple transaction had to be an acting scene that needed perfect execution at 3:30 in the morning. Me-"You want me to go out there and show you the milk?" Mary--"NO!!". Finally, I gave her the milk, and like playing the hot and cold game, I broke my actions down until I got it right. She wanted me to say "It's milk!" behind the shut door as I often do when I'm leaving her after putting her down. I tend to avoid yelling from behind the shut door when I want all the other children to continue sleeping, but I broke my rules tonight just to satisfy this demanding director. She was going to wake them up anyway if I just didn't get it right.

I finally got it right. After I executed my lines just as she wanted them. I slid back down the stairs and crawled back into bed. Only to have my mind resist going back to sleep. I started writing the blog in my head and here it is. If it is not regurgitated out of my mind, I will not sleep. I'm hoping this will do the trick. Now it's back to bed...because I'm sure my little director will wake me up nice and early tomorrow!