The New Order

Apparently Rachel decided in my absence that some things need changing around here. The first: She now dresses for dinner. For the last three nights she has changed into a nice dress before we sit down to eat, and tonight was no exception -- Hanukkah is a special occasion, she said, so she swapped out her cool outfit of a kilt, a long-sleeve shirt, stockings and bright green shoes (she looks like an NYU undergrad, Drew said, which is a dead-on description) for a short-sleeve maroon velvet number with the necklace I made out of the fairy charm that Anne gave her months ago and that she hasn't worn so I thought she'd forgotten about it. She also insisted we eat in the dining room: "On holidays like Yom Kippur or Hanukkah, we always eat in the dining room because the dining room is fancy and that's a good place to eat dinner."

Um, OK, kid. That means I'll have to work harder to keep the clutter off the table, but I'm perfectly willing to do so. I had no idea we were raising a 19th Century girl in the 21st Century. Oh, well....

***

The other night we went to Powell's after school. Rachel was a little clingy and weepy when I got home, probably because of the all the emotion surrounding my absence and my welcome back. She begged me to buy her a Pinkalicious book, but I held firm and said no (besides the fact that we have no room for hardcover books, I can't afford to buy her a book every time we go to the bookstore). She held it to her chest and announced, "This book is so precious to me. It's like a jewel against my heart."

Later when we were in the car she seemed sad. When I asked her what the matter was, she said severely, "Nothing you need to know." She later admitted she was still upset about me not buying the book.

***

At dinner last night, out of the blue, Rachel said:

"Don't tell me, let me guess. What would you do if Daddy gave you a tissue box for Hanukkah? You'd give him that Mom look and throw it at him. Right, Mommy?"

That "Mom" look????