The Crank

April 16, 2018April 16, 2018Na'ama Yehuda Anecdotes of Life, Funnies, Life and love, Muse and Flow, Speech Language Pathology, Things Kids Say, Writing Tags: Challenges, Family, parenting, Postaday, speech therapy, Tantrums, The Daily Post, Things Kids Say, Toddlers 2 Comments

Photo: Vivian Maier (Girl Crying) N.Y. 1954

She huffed and she puffed and she stomped her small feet. She whined and she cried and she kicked the car seat. She refused to wear shoes, threw her coat on the ground. Made sure everyone heard her for miles around. She tossed food on the floor. Then asked for some more … Like a kid on a mission for the spoiled child edition.

Evening came.

Gramma called.

Mama handed the phone.

“Tell me now, little one, what on earth’s going on?”

“I’m a crank,” the child said in response. “Now Mama’s tired, all on my own.”

For more of Vivian Maier’s amazing photography: http://www.vivianmaier.com/

For The Daily Post

Invisibly Small

March 21, 2018March 21, 2018Na'ama Yehuda Anecdotes of Life, Funnies, Life and love, Muse and Flow, Quotes, Speech Language Pathology, Things Kids Say, Writing Tags: imagination, Invisible friends, play, Postaday, Preschoolers, The Daily Post, Things Kids Say, Toddlers 1 Comment

Photo: Smadar Halperin-Epshtein

They can hide beneath blankets

They can scoot behind doors

They can crawl under tables.

It’s no challenge at all.

They’re a lion

A princess

A pirate,

A ball.

He has friends you can’t see.

They are there

“They’re just small.”

For The Daily Post

“I Am Waiting”

March 18, 2018Na'ama Yehuda Anecdotes of Life, Life and love, Muse and Flow, Photography, Professional Development, Reflections, Speech Language Pathology, Things Kids Say, Writing Tags: attachment, Learning to wait, parenting, Patience, Postaday, The Daily Post, Things Kids Say, Toddlers, Transitional Object 2 Comments

Photo: mostlymommyhood.com

“I am waiting,” she crouched with jaw ensconced by tiny fists supported on little elbows pressed into small knees.

Her eyes did not leave the circle of translucence and white suds.

“It will be a while,” her momma said. “How about we go have a snack? I think we still have some cookies left.”

“But I’m waiting,” the toddler admonished, as if the wait itself precluded any other thing from being done … not even the consumption of normally-tantrum-before-dinner-worthy cookies.

Then again, maybe this wait indeed required full attention. After all, it was her terry friends being tumbled, wet, forlorn and all alone, so far away from hug and hand.

For The Daily Post

For Photo and how-to: http://mostlymommyhood.com/2012/11/17/the-friends-get-a-bath/

Suspiciously Quiet

February 14, 2018Na'ama Yehuda Anecdotes of Life, Funnies, Life and love, Reflections, Things Kids Say, Writing Tags: Makeup, Mischief, Oh-oh, parenting, Suspicious, The Daily Post, Things Kids Say, Toddlers, Too Quiet Leave a comment

Photo: Pinterest

The quiet lingered enough to have the mother lift her head from the small screen of the phone.

“Emma?” She inquired.

A longer silence returned no response.

She rose and walked toward the child’s bedroom. The three-year-old was outgrowing afternoon naps but sometimes still could be found slumbering amidst her toys.

The door was open. The girl’s room was empty. She peeked into the bathroom. Empty, too.

“Emma!?” Her voice rose. This time in alarm.

A faint shuffle came from the direction of the master bedroom. Nothing more.

“Emma, where are you?” She demanded.

“Here …” The extra pause and small voice held suspicious hesitation.

Urgency made the few steps feel oddly prolonged. The woman felt heartbeat pulse in the space between her tongue and throat. She pushed open the door …

The child’s cheeks were mascara blotches, her mouth and chin bloomed various shades of lipstick. She had a second set of eyebrows. Her little feet sported rose hues that merged into the floor. The room reeked from a cacophony of perfumes, nail polish, and something that smelled suspiciously like aftershave.

“Hi,” the little girl managed, guilty as they come. “I … I was getting pretty so it be your party.”

For The Daily Post