Day 1071 - Why I Fear Emma

Emma is a very sweet girl. She loves to play with her dolls, color, and give motivational talks to toddlers at local My Gyms. But as her vocabulary and comprehension increases, the things she says some times frightens me because I see it as a precursor of things to come.

Just over the past few days, here are a few incidences as examples:

1) As the kids were finishing up dinner, I was cleaning up the table and began to finish off my plate while standing up. When Emma saw what I was doing, she told me, "Daddy. You sit down and eat. You do not stand up and eat. Sit down."

2) After I finished brushing Andrew's teeth, I called for Emma. "Emma! Time to brush your teeth!" She slowly rolled off her bed. "Emma! I said it's time to brush your teeth!" When she came into the bathroom, she said in a huff, "You don't have to say it again when I'm coming!"

3) We were at Target, and I was watching the kids in the toy section while Lisa was checking out. I told Emma and Andrew that they could take turns looking at the Cars and the Princess section until Mommy came to get us. As the kids were playing with all of the Cars toys, Lisa popped her head down the aisle and said she was ready to go. We were all walking down the aisle towards the exit when Emma flopped to the ground. She said, "I didn't get to see my Princess toys. You said I could see it. Andrew saw his cars. I want to see my Princess!"

These examples scare me on two counts. First, it's hard for me to comprehend that a girl who isn't even three is telling me these things. Second, every thing she called me on, she was absolutely right about. And that's what is most pee-in-my-pants scary. The next thing you know she's going to tell me lap dances are a form of cheating on your wife.

In ten short years, Emma will be entering the teenage years. If memory serves me well, when I was a thirteen year old girl, those were very trying times. The mixture of angst, hormones, and righteousness will probably put quite a weight on the Ichikawa family. But as with every step of raising a child, this too shall pass. At least we can all rely upon our impending death to bring peace and comfort to our hectic, parental lives.