Minty Christmas Prep

Tonight when Daddy went to brush her teeth, as soon as the spin brush touched her teeth, she ran from the bathroom screaming. He accidentally used our minty toothpaste instead of her toddler paste, and apparently it burns when you're not ready for it. He wiped it off, brushed her teeth with the right toothpaste. I heard her screaming at the top of her lungs as I poured my second glass of Moscato. He gave her water, I gave her milk (with false promises of "This will help. Keep sipping."). She calmed down and went to bed, with a look on her face like her puppy just died. This morning she awoke when I turned off her gastro pump. She skipped between Christmas songs on TV and my Facebook page on my phone until we went for a Christmas tree. Her brother managed to break my heart in 27 different pieces because he didn't go along (fucking teenagers, seriously). We picked a good one, and while I had her at my work at their Advent celebration, Daddy discovered that the tree we'd chosen ("Let's not get them to take the binding off; let's be surprised! What the hell?") takes up half our tiny living room. But it's BEAUTIFUL!

She let me nap. She went to Walmart with Daddy. She announced it was bedtime at 7:15, less than 11 hours after she woke up. This is a Saturday with my baby. And it was a good one, all things considered. After all, it's all about perspective, right? All she wants is a full day without hair brushing and mint toothpaste. She wants to snuggle and go on adventures. She wants Tiger to stay away from her and Trixie to sleep in her bed. She wants my phone and that damn Katy Perry Christmas song. She wants to tell us about her new life skills class and all her new friends. And we do our damnedest to make her days exactly how she wants them. It's not about lessons and trying to create a functional human being. We don't punish often, and we tend to buy her everything she asks for. We don't need her to learn to work for results or spend less time playing video games. We don't need to teach her how to fend off horny teenage boys and how to respect her mind and her body. We don't worry about social media, teenage pregnancy nor drugs. When it comes to her future, we just pray she has one. Every goddamn day we pray. That being said, she has a "normal" brother, so we're playing both sides. We all just want her to be happy. Period, the end.