Chapter 6 - The First Time Emma Told Me Aunt Vanessa Was Mean
Three months before the frying-pan incident, Emma said:
“I don’t want Aunt Vanessa tomorrow.”
I was packing her bag for the next morning.
“Why?”
“She’s mean.”
“How?”
“She says babies cry.”
“You are kind of a baby when you cry.”
I said it teasingly.
Emma did not laugh.
I immediately softened.
“Hey, I’m joking.”
She stared at:
the floor.
I asked:
“What does she do?”
“She makes me sit.”
“Time-out?”
She nodded.
“For what?”
“Crying.”
I felt uncomfortable.
Then rationalized.
Maybe Emma had thrown:
something.
Hit:
Lily.
Refused:
directions.
Four-year-olds rarely provide complete reports.
I texted Vanessa:
Emma says she’s getting time-outs for crying. What’s up?
Vanessa replied:
LOL she leaves out the part where she screams until everyone gives in. I make her calm down before she rejoins us.
Reasonable enough.
I wrote:
Just don’t punish her for being upset.
Vanessa:
I don’t.
I accepted:
that.
Not because I had verified it.
Because I needed Monday morning childcare.
May you like
That truth mattered.
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