Not Really Hot

Hanging out in the morning after waking up.

With bedhead.

We've had a bit of a rough patch with Tallis for the past week or so.  It happens now and then, not as often as in the beginning, but it still happens.  She just struggles.  And, so, we do too.  For her privacy, I won't go into the details.  Besides, the details don't really matter.  But I want to share a couple of things she has said recently. 

One day last week, I played a video online of this little girl singing "Amazing Grace".  I don't know why I clicked on it, but I'm glad I did.  The  boys looked for a second and quickly lost interest and walked away.  Tallis sat on my lap.  When it was over, she asked to see it again and so we did.  I said, "I like that girl.  I think she sings pretty.  Do you like that girl, Tallis?"  Tallis said, "Yeah, she good girl."  She stared for a while longer and then, a little teary-eyed, she said, "Mom?  I good girl too."  I told her that I knew she was and then we talked a little about good girl things.

Just a few minutes ago, I tucked Tallis into bed for her nap.  We talked for a few minutes and I kissed her and hugged her.  I asked her if she was having a good day.  I could tell she wanted to say something so I waited a minute for her to find the words.  She said, "Mom?  Tomorrow, I good girl."  And then she said what I thought was "really hot."  I agreed that it's hot outside.  "No," she said and tried again, "I good girl.  It's really hard."  Her eyes were a little watery by now and mine were too.  When Tallis is struggling, there's all kinds of difficult behavior going on.  And when she tries to be better, she really tries hard.  That's what she was telling me today.  She's a little girl with a bit of a broken heart and having a broken language doesn't help matters. But, she is certainly trying and I am unbelievably proud of her for it.  She is a really good girl too.  I think I'll try to get that across to her better when she wakes up.

Happy Tuesday,

~w