Wednesday, August 14, 2013

You Is...

Dear Olive,

I just finished reading The Help, and finally realized what your Grandma Shelly was saying at night to you when she'd see you.

"You is Kind... You is Smart... You is important."

It's from that book (now movie) and I thought it was really sweet how the nanny used to tell it to the girl every day until she repeated it back.

Lately at night we've been saying it after all our other rituals. First we read a book or two, depending on  how tired I am. Then you like to sing your songs, including You've Got A Friend in Me, Twinkle Twinkle, My Brown Eyed Girl, Reach for the Moon, and sometimes a few others. It's quite a routine we've gotten ourselves into.

Now you like to do the You is Smart.

However, I feel conflicted since You Is, is not the right grammar. I can't really explain that to you right now, and you are learning a lot, so I just decided to say "Olive is" or "You are" just to make myself feel better.

After we do Olive, we move on to LuLu.

"LuLu is kind... LuLu is smart... LuLu is important."

You like to move on to Mimi, Aunty Paz, Aunty Nay Nay, Aunty La La, Grandma Shelly, Uncle Brian, Poppykin, and so forth. Phew! Tonight you even went so far as to say The Purple Lady is smart, beautiful, and important. (She is the mean witch from The Little Mermaid.)

But I like it, and I hope it makes a difference someday. After ALL that is said and done, you like to do additional cuddling and then finally I put you in your bed. Sweet Dreams!