I don't know how I ever got so lucky, but I'm sure glad that I did. My wonderful, gorgeous, intelligent, doting, amazing husband made this video for me as part of my Valentine's gift. Granted he did try to get embarassing pictures in there too, but even with the embarassment it is the single sweetest gift I've ever received. I watch it at least once a day and just swoon...
Allie was crying Friday evening. Largely because I asked the girls to clean their room, which was just completely unfair of me. When I gently suggested many things were more unfair than that, she decided she was crying because she "ruins everything" after she accidentally kicked Avery in the leg. Her crying was beyond dramatic. There was flailing and whining and pleading invovled and i just didn't have the patience for a diva-fest. I told Ron it was his turn so he decided to see if he could help with the situation.
"Hey girl, what's the matter?" he asked her.
"Is life always going to be like this?" she wailed dramatically, flinging herself towards the bed. I suppress the urge to yell from the other room, that life will likely get much more difficult in the years to come. Now was not the time for snark.
Ron continued speaking in the calm metered tone of a thoughtful therapist. "Well honey, you don't have that much to cry about. Things are great! What do you really have to be sad about?"
"Lots!" she alleged. Again, dramatically.
"Such as.....?" Ron inquired, truly curious.
"Well, you know....... stuff."
"Sweetie, you've got it easy. There's nothing to be upset about. Maybe if your dog died or something you could cry about that," he offered, trying to make her realize life could always be worse.
"I wouldn't cry about that," she sniffled, furrowing her eyebrows, but at least not crying for a change.
"What? Why not?" Ron said aloud and I thought in my head while i was observing from afar.
"It's just a freaking dog!" she said emphatically and wrapped up the statement with a sigh and an eyeroll.
At which point Ron and I lost the composure we had been struggling to maintain. The laughter was eventually contagious and my six-going-on-sixteen-year-old joined in. Our new family catchphrase when someone is whining or feeling sorry for themself? "It's just a freaking ________!"
Oh, and no dogs or other animals were harmed in the making of this post. We do not, nor have we ever owned an dog. We had fish once, but I accidentally killed them. But hey... they're just freaking fish...
