Elizabeth has a friend in her kindergarten class whom I'll call Lola. Lola has two significant qualities. The first is that she loves Elizabeth, and the second is that she does not appear to have any inhibitions. Rachel acknowledges that Lola is a tricky friend to have, likely to lead her companions to places they might not otherwise go, but says (I'm paraphrasing) that every girl should have an ass-kicking, take-no-prisoners friend.
Yesterday Lola was over for an after-school playdate. The girls were in the basement, quiet, and Rachel was taking advantage of the time to get some quotidian chores done. It's difficult to vacuum a home with kids. Either they're running around everywhere, demanding your attention, or it's 9:30 pm and you're too damn tired to get started.
When Lola had to go home, the price of that quiet was discovered. Come with me now on a photographic safari of my basement. I had to help clean it up last night after dinner.
First, we head down the stairs.
This is an unholy marriage of baby toys, dress-up clothes, and Dora The Explorer toys, presided over by Thomas the Tank Engine.
The trail continues into the bathroom...
Okay, now Andrew's forgotten and discarded Rescue Heroes are joining the orgy.
On the bathroom floor, we are joined by stuffed animals. I'm noticing puddles closer to the toilet.
The sink is full of water, with all of Dora The Explorer's worldly goods packed on top. The paper towel roll is wet.
We asked Elizabeth if she knew that a line of civility was crossed, and she protested that she told Lola "No", but Lola didn't listen. So we should blame Lola, not her.
We wondered aloud if Lola even has a superego, and Elizabeth told us that Lola knew full well the scope of her destruction. "She said, wow, your mom's going to be mad!"
Next time Lola comes to visit - five minutes of quiet will trigger an alarm.
there's no charles in this classroom...
Posted by: grandma | November 21, 2009 at 07:44 PM