What every mom wants to hear

Scene: Rachel's bedroom. After weeks of fretting about the disastrous state of Rachel's bedroom -- and anticipating David and Anne's visit this coming weekend -- I was determined to clear away all of her old clothes, toys she didn't want anymore, etc. So we spent the last two days cleaning out her bins, her bookshelves, her closet and dresser drawers. We found a pair of sneakers I thought she'd lost and she got rid of a lot of her My Little Pony characters, which I never thought she'd do. "There's so much SPACE!" she said after we'd finished (I never throw away her toys without consulting her first) and I seized on that remark as multiple opportunities to say, "See? Doesn't it feel great to get rid of old stuff?"

The reality is, she has so few toys left that she really deserves a few replacements, which I think I may get her the next time we go to Target. At the very least, I think we'll head to a craft store in the next few weekends so I can get her a proper art bin and lots of stuff that she can I can do together ("a craft club!" she said excitedly) and things she can do with her friend Ivy, who comes over a lot and there's not a whole lot for them to do except draw on sheets of paper.

Anyway, while I was deep in her closet digging out her old stuff, she suddenly said, "You were right, Mommy. About moving."
I gave her a puzzled look.
"I DID make friends!" she said happily. "I HAVE new friends."
I couldn't help myself, I started tearing up.
"Why are you crying?" she exclaimed.
"Because there's nothing that mommies like better than to be told we're right about something," I answered.

***

I was expressing some frustration over something totally minor, so much so that I've forgotten what it was, when Rachel sat down beside me (I believe I was trying to pull a recalcitrant bowl out from one of our bottom cabinets) and said,

"It's OK, Mommy. Rachel's here, Rachel loves you, it's all fine."

Once again...who's the adult and who's the kid around here? She's an Oregon child....