Of Fairy Tales and Cindrellas..

After the daily humdrum of the mornings.. the kids morning chores done with, their breakfast over... I asked them to play or do whatever they want to in their play area, while I took a moment to myself while having my breakfast (and reading a book) at the dining table just across a viewshot from them. Chinipie wanted to color but wanted me to look up a different coloring book for her which, I said, I could help her with only after my breakfast.. till then she will have to use her current one. All said and done, and she returned to her coloring with a satisfied look, when sugarbun decided that she wanted to do her coloring sitting next to me and implanted herself on the chair next to mine. She kept showing me her coloring (scribbling, according to Chini) and I kept either grunting or adding a few words of appreciation while continuing with my reading/munching. That's when Chini came to me and said, "You know what mommy, you and sugar treat me like Cindrella's stepmothers and stepsisters!" I just dropped everything and looked at her.. the mommy heart in me almost broke on hearing those words. I asked, "why do you say so?" and she could see the mixture of hurt and amazed look on my face and started blushing as she thought she said something wrong. I asked her if she felt so coz she is not sitting next to me and she wasn't sure. I gave her one big hug and asked her,

"Do I make u scrub floor like Cindrella's stepmother?" " Do I make you cook food for all of us?" "Do I dress you up in rags?" 

"What's rags mommy?"

"Torn Clothes"

"No. You buy me and sugar new dresses every time we go to target and mall"

"Then why do you say so?"

"But you make me clean my room and the play room!"

"Honey, that's the mess you make.. and besides you need to take care of your toys and books. Do I make you clean up the mess that I make?"

"No"

"Then why do you say such hurting words to me?"

"I am sorry mumma" and she rushes to give me a hug this time!

When I told dad about this, he just couldn't help laughing. He says there's nothing hurting over here.. it's just a child's innocence.. I wish I could see it that way. Since morning, I have been thinking which action of mine touched the sensitive heart of my little big girl?!?

to which I have not gotten any answers yet... I hadn't even screamed at her.. everything was at a very normal tone at a very normal pace as it could be.. Did her little mind not like the idea of me trying to get a little time for myself? or Does she gets touched every time sugar gets away with her pranks/gets some favors coz shez still the little one? hmmmm.. very perplexing but surely the child's mind acts in a strange way...........

Did I tell you about her 'Rapunzel' incident which happened a few months back? It was the Valentine's day and we had a little get together at our place. We (our friends and us) used to find reasons just to be together and enjoy some time. So, we had planned an evening filled with games, fun and good food at our place. The kids games were done with and they were playing in the basement while we were having the couples games in the first floor family room. Suddenly, I heard Chini crying (she actually howls out very loud), by the time I reached the door leading to the basement, the dad and the crying Chini were coming upstairs. The dad had the kitchen scissors in his hand and said she has cut all her hair!!! Apparently, she had found the kitchen scissors lying in the basement, and had started cutting her hair. My immediate concern was if she hadn't cut herself anywhere else (neck/ears) in the process. Thankfully, she hadn't.. I took her to another room and tried to calm her down. After she was a little calmer, I asked,

"why did you do that, honey?" 

"I was trying to be Rapunzel." followed by another spurt of wailing....

"But honey, Rapunzel is not real."

"She is. We saw her in the movie theater in the 'tangled' movie"

"Honey, she is just an imagination of somebody else.. like in your imagination you can have a blue or a purple banana.. somebody else imagined her and made a movie/book out of it"

"oh! (with another burst of bawling) But I only wanted to be Rapunzel!!!!!"