EM was taking little EC up the stairs tonight for a bath…at least, she was trying to; but it didn’t seem to be working. I was head-down in the kitchen, chopping something here and hitting buttons on the microwave there…dinner for adults comes after bath time and bed time. EC had been a little difficult today, refusing to follow directions to walk on the sidewalk, let EM wash her hands or put her in her chair, and had served a time-out for being particularly intransigent just before she ate her dinner. So I didn’t much pay attention to the difficulty she causing about getting up for her bath.

But it got very loud, and tears were flowing…so I looked out the kitchen door at her, and started listening. She was yelling something through the tears, which was nearly impossible to make out, but after a few repetitions I got it: “Nose bumps, kisses, and hugs!”

She was listing off the signs of affection we share before she goes to bed. Then I understood: she thought that she was being sent to bed, and that EM was denying her the chance to say a proper good-night to me. And, in a heart-warming moment, I realized that she was fighting, and fighting hard, to show me affection. Missing out on even one good-night hug was unacceptable in her little toddler world.

With that cleared up, she gave me five hugs and lots of extra kisses, and went happily off to bath and bed. And I was much happier all night too.