We were enjoying working side by side, watercoloring the cloudy sky and some cartoons.
“Small One, please pass the Kosher salt. Want to watch as I sprinkle it on my wet paint?”
“I know, Mom. I do that too. It makes snowflakes in the paint. See?” She proceeds to take a pinch of salt with her dainty little fingers, and gently drop the grains into her wet paint.
That’s my girl. Her ‘snowflakes’ are exquisite.
We continue painting. I paint a cartoon character pregnant, looking like a globe. She paints her character round like a piece of candy.
“Hey Mom, do you want a tootsie roll?”
“We don’t have any, Dear.”
She smiles a knowing, secret smile of delight, and puts down her paintbrush. “Yes, we do! Hiding way up in the cupboard.”
I stop working. “Oh really? How do you know that?”
“Oh, me and Sis found it. Don’t tell! It’s Halloween candy. No one else knows, so they can’t eat any.”
Ah. A secret stash of candy, hidden away from many siblings... Do tell. If you want to eat something in a house with many siblings, you have to learn to either A., eat really fast, or B., hide stuff.
At this point, she climbs up a chair, onto the cupboard, and reaches up above the toaster. She returns victorious, with a half-empty bag of Tootsie Rolls, leftover and forgotten from Halloween. She is so happy to share this secret with me.
“But please don’t write about it on your blog, Mom, because then everyone will find out and it will be gone tomorrow!”
Good thinking, Small One.