That's the power of positive thinking, she says, when we're playing board games (and she's winning). She furrows her brow and holds the dice in her hands and says, "Five! I need a five!", or sometimes she concentrates very hard as she whispers, "Eiiiight...c'mon eiiiight!"
I laugh at her every time because it's so funny to watch, but she looks at us, suddenly serious, and proclaims her famous mantra as she flicks her wrist and rolls those little cubes,
That's the power of positive thinking!
And wouldn't you know it, but she usually ends up getting her way.
At this point in I usually throw my hands up in exasperation as she erupts into fits of giggles, keeling over with impish delight. And I think to myself, my oh my. My girls look just like their aunt.
I wouldn't say that I am a natural pessimist, but I am a worrier. I sometimes wonder if it just comes naturally to mothers. Over the years, my fretful nature has extended beyond the confines of a never-ending game of Catan (nerd alert!) to more substantial realms.
My girls spent the weekend laying on the couch, the floor, the bed, on me, wherever they could gain purchase burying their little heads into crevices, and moaning. They were so sick, sicker than they had any business being, because I thought for sure, just this once - that we would travel (even if it's only 10 miles away) with a healthy clan.
Alas, it was not to be.
Nissa was so confused. Her tired eyes spent the better half of two days peering out at me from between folds of cloth, imploring me to will her better. She hadn't slept in days, full of all kinds of yuck. Exhausted, she would point to her crusted little button nose and say in a pitiful voice, "Nosey, mama. Nosey. Ouch."
Inara slept a lot (she collapsed onto the couch after climbing on top of the counters, as you can see above). I hardly spoke to her for days...it broke my heart to think of all the times that I had wished that she would stop pestering me with questions (I just wrote a post about it at ANTM), only to have it happen for days on end.
It was sad, and even more agonizing, it was...unnatural. I felt as though I had upset the delicate balance of her little universe.
On the third day, I was beside myself with worry. I couldn't spare even a moment to pack the suitcases. I wrote endless mental lists of the things we would need for the next few days, and as I was doling out medicine I wondered if I should pack that, too. Why do we need this much STUFF to survive, anyway? What ever happened to traveling light? Every time we travel lately, I feel like our van is bursting with so much junk that I'm worried we won't be able to get the thing out of the driveway.
I convinced myself that this time was different, because the girls were sick. Therefore we needed extra rations of...everything. I still worried that the whole getaway would be a torturous affair, with two murky-eyed and feverish little girls. Good times all around.
But sometime that evening, I began to think about my sister Becky (not many people are lucky enough to drop the "in-law", of this I am well aware), and her words of wisdom. The power of positive thinking, huh? At that point I was willing to give anything a shot. The girls, still listless, acquiesced in that quiet way that they have, understanding that sometimes it's better to continue being a part of the world, even if you only have the strength to watch from the sidelines.
I think it was a turning point, as still-feverish-and-a-bit-snuffly Inara perked up just the tiniest bit when she saw that I was baking treats to take with us (more STUFF - I can't help myself).
The last twenty-four hours are a blur. I don't know how we got to this hotel room (only ten miles from our house, but for all intents and purposes on the other side of the globe). I feel jet lagged, exhausted, and full of snot.
(I eded ub catchig whateber duh girls hab.)
But. We are here. Packed to the gills, suitcases stretched to their very limit and perhaps even slightly beyond, we are here. And left with nothing else, I have decided to heed the words spoken to me by my younger, wiser sister and friend.
We are going to have a fabulous time (even though I just got off the phone with Inara's school because she is at the nurses office, sick). We're going to rest up and then have some much-deserved fun.
Fun. As in, do-all-the-things-we're never-allowed-to-do-at-home-fun.
Eat AND jump on the big fluffy bed at the same time? No problem! It's FUN!
Did you hear that, sickies? You can be on your merry way now. You're of no use here, thank you for your time the door is thatta way.
Now that's the power of positive thinking.
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