"Let's pretend the grass is flowers!"

 

Before Halloween this year I had a plan to store away Beatrice's trick or treating bucket and then let her choose one or two pieces every day until the huge cache of candy was finally gone.  Beatrice loved trick or treating, of course, so I was surprised when the very next day, she had completely forgotten about the candy bucket and never mentioned it again.

 

I thought about this again the other day when I was setting out all the wrapped presents under the tree. 

 

"Are some of those presents for me?" Beatrice asked.

 

"Yes, a lot of them are."

 

"Can I open them on Christmas?"

 

"Yes."

 

"Okay," she said, and walked away, and hasn't looked at or mentioned them since.

 

Beatrice loves Christmas, but when she lists the things she likes about it, it's all lights and trees and Santa and crafts.  I even had to remind her to ask Santa for something when she went to meet him last week.

 

"What do you want Santa to bring you?" I asked her.

 

"Let's pretend the grass is flowers!" she responded.

 

That's not to say Beatrice doesn't have her moments of fighting with Arthur over toys, of course, or crying about being served the wrong kind of yogurt, but in general she is much more interested in experiences than in objects.

 

I know this is a very brief stage and maybe all three-and-a-half-year-olds are this way just because they haven't learned to be acquisitive yet.  I'm sure I'll be re-reading this and laughing in a few years.  But for now, today, presents really are almost an afterthought to the fun of Christmas.

 

I suppose there's no real point to this post except bragging about my daughter, or perhaps commemorating a certain fleeting point in her development.  But once again, the things I try so hard to be every day, Beatrice just is naturally: brave, open-hearted, spontaneous, and kind.  Nice work, B.