Sick Chicken

Sara has been at home sick for two days...actually, today marks her third day of captivity. No fever to speak of, but she has a wicked, wheezy cough, runny nose, and transient ear pain...which means that although she isn't functioning at 100% and nees her inhaler to get through a long sentence, she basically feels okay, and is simply bored and impatient with all of this rest. (However, there is a bright side for her: "Oh, well...if I can't go to school, at least I don't have to wear pants!") It also means that I have been treated to a host of her wonderfully quirky musings and questions, and I have to say...damn, my kid is COOL. Obviously, I don't wish for her to be sick, but it seems as though while I have mandated rest for her little body, her imagination has been on a fabulous sort of overdrive.

First of all, I don't know that it's exactly healthy or normal to have an 8-year-old girl who is hooked on Hitchcock, but it certainly makes things interesting. She has been watching The Twilight Zone on netflix for the past few months, and has really been getting into it during her convalescence. Sara has always been the more wildly imaginative of my girls...I strongly suspect there is a writer or an actress trapped in there. Thankfully, she is also soft-hearted and thoughtful...like me, the thought of intentionally hurting someone is appalling to her, and it's equally hard to see anyone get hurt. (I just hope that she learns to be a little more selfish...maybe then she'll be better prepared when someone hurts HER than I ever was) But it has occurred to me that her flair for the dramatic and her keen, sincere interest in the people and events going on around her could be a dangerous combination without her kind spirit and generous heart.

Sara is a classically trained Little Sister. Emily is by far the most fascinating person in the world to her, and she goes to great lengths to--ahem--be well-informed of her sister's actions. Emily's first boyfriend is a source of profound curiosity. This morning, I was asking Em a few questions--for example, whether she and Fargo had any plans to try to get together in the coming weeks, and how often they talked. (Hey, Due Diligence is my JOB).

"Mostly we text, we don't talk on the phone much...but we text several times every day," she tells me...and they're going to try to meet up and do something next weekend. (Hmmmm...I have to say, in the first boyfriend department, having your daughter find one that does NOT go to her school and is unable to drive is kind of a parent's dream.) My inquiries led to the following exchange:

Sara: So, Mommy?
Me: Yes, honey?
S: Did your boyfriend go to your school when you were Emily's age?
Me: Actually, no...he didn't.
S: When did you see him?
Me: At Cotillion, and at the movies on weekends.
S: Did you text every day?
Me, chuckling: There wasn't any texting.
S, perplexed: Oh......so did you PictoChat on your DS?
Me, laughing: No, love. We didn't have that, either. He called me on the phone every day after school.
S: Your cell phone?
Me: No, my bedroom phone...I had my own number.
S: (Pauses) I don't even know what you're talking about.

A long conversation ensued about adolescent dating in "the old days," with landlines, handwritten notes, film cameras, and no facebook...she was clearly intrigued by this simpler time, and wanted to know more.

Sara is a little sponge, one who is both hilarious and wise beyond her years...last night, Michael and I took the girls out to look at Christmas lights after dinner, and as we drove through the Chesapeake "campus," Sara pipes up from her booster: "This is where we saw Santa!"

Indeed we had, two years earlier...we had been driving through looking at the beautifully decorated trees when we saw Santa Claus ride past us in a horse-drawn carriage. (Apparently, the City of Chesapeake offers all sorts of services...?) Sara promptly rolled down her window, shouting at the passing Kris Kringle, "Santa...it's me! I want a pony! 821 Richmond Road!"

The truth is, I have two bright, funny, sweet girls...and I am thankful for them every day. I'm also thankful that my life is at such a place where I can just sit back and enjoy them. Yes, I'm busy as ever, but I'm also happy and contented in a way I never have been. Everything this Christmas looks a little shinier, tastes a little sweeter, and sounds even more lyrical...even endless silly questions from a bored, sick little Chicken. I think maybe I just need to join her for a pajama day and throw all of my errands out the window. :)