MAMA HAIR

From the moment she awoke, all Cinnamon wanted was for me to make her hair like mine. "Mama hair", she called it. A simple updo held together with a hair clip. In her case, two clips.

When her hair started to loosen as a result of her playing, she asked me to remake the style. A style so simple it takes a mere three seconds to pull the hair back into a low ponytail, twist it up, and clip it.

At one point, Cinnamon donned my grey hooded sweater and pretended to be me. "I'm mama!", she ran around the living room as I was making polenta. Sage continued work on his 280-piece puzzle. By the end of the day, more than half was completed. Knowing Sage, he will finish the puzzle by breakfast tomorrow.

After breakfast, we made a few stops before heading to the theatre to see "Boxtrolls". Cinnamon explained how she tends to fall asleep when she watches movies too late. I can relate, so we went in between lunch and dinner. The children had been looking forward to going to the movie theatre all week long as it is not a regular occurrence. A movie and popcorn made their day.

At the paper store, the lady at the register commented on my well-behaved children. Was she looking at the same two children who were walking around touching books, craft supplies, and admiring walls of colourful papers with envelopes? I looked at her, bewildered. Did she truly meant my two children? She did, and I wondered how misbehaved children look. She explained she used to be a preschool teacher and has seen many children come into the store. She knew misbehaved children when she saw them and mine were not, she explained. Nice to hear, albeit I know my children have bad days too - as do adults. But today was not the first time I've had someone tell me this.

The bedtime story was the continuation of Giada's Naples book. Three more chapters, having ended with chapter 8.  I'm still wondering how the story will end - how the apparent dream will merge with reality. Or is the dream a reality? The rest of the story will have to wait until the children return in a week.

I realise Cinnamon's desire to be like me is temporary, so I embrace it for as long as it will last. Children grow up, gain their independence, and develop their own personalities. Life moves forward. But for this brief moment in time, I will smile when she wants to be me.