The Sink With The Googly Eyes

"Hi! Mommy!" Natalie waved at me with both hands, a wide smile on her face.

I relished in it because I don't know how much longer she'll be excited to see me when I show up at her school. Will I arrive one day and see her eyes roll?

"Hello," I answered, reaching my arms out for a hug. She ran right into them. Her friend stood beside her, smiling slightly. "Hi Natalie's Mom," she said meekly. I'm glad Natalie isn't embarrassed to show me affection in front of her friends. Maybe that'll change one day. I thought about this and gave her an extra squeeze.

"So," Natalie said, pulling away. "Do you want to see what I did?" She said this primly, like she was a tour guide. Her wrist flicked towards her posters like she was Vanna White showing everyone the board. Parents were allowed to come and view the "gallery" and Natalie had been anxious to show me what she came up with.

"I do," I replied. School is nearly over and I imagine teachers are scrambling what to do with their students. I mean, what can you do with only one week left? Attention spans aren't exactly there when summer break is within reach. Natalie's teacher decided to have the kids research an endangered animal and a famous Texan.

"Do you like how I drew my polar bear?" Natalie asked. "It took me ages. Ages and ages. I am not a good drawer."

"I love it," I assured her.

Her teacher came over. "Natalie did a great job," she said. "I love how she wrote 'fun facts' on her poster."

"I was trying to make it more interesting," Natalie explained. "No one wants to just see a poster board with a list of facts."

Her friend cleared her throat. This is because her poster just had a list of facts.

"I mean," Natalie quickly amended. "It's okay if OTHER people do it like that. But I wanted mine to stand out."

I told Natalie that I was impressed with what she came up with.

"I think next week we can take our posters home. You can hang them in the living room!" Natalie said.

"Er. Well. Hmm. Maybe," I said noncommittally.

It's always wonderful to see Natalie in a good mood. Now that she's a tween, she's not always happy. Her mood swings have become terribly unpleasant. One minute she'll be laughing, the next she'll be asking why I'm looking at her funny.

"I'm not," I'll insist, startled.

"You are! And it's MEAN," Natalie will snap before running from the room.

I'll be left wondering what in the world just happened.

Sometimes she'll get upset because her friends are being mean. She plays with a bunch of girls in the neighborhood and they'll turn on each other so quickly. Imagine a bunch of tween mood swings in one cluster. It's frightening. Natalie will burst into the house wailing, claiming that everyone told her to go home.

"You don't have to listen to them," I'll tell her. "They aren't the boss of you. I'm the boss of you."

Sometimes I'll just want to see her smile again. I hate to see her upset. So the other day, I put googly eyes on the kitchen sink.

"How about you check out the sink," I suggested as Natalie wiped her eyes. She had come inside because one of her friends had "shooed" her away.

"Like I was a BUG! I'm so offended!" Natalie huffed.

"Why should I check out the sink?" Natalie grumbled. But she did it. And then...

She laughed. Loud belly laughs. My girl was my girl again.

Maybe she won't always light up when she sees me at her school. Yes there will be plenty of tears at home as she grows.

But for now?

There was a sink with googly eyes and giggles filling up the house.