Down the Rabbit Hole

The Healing Power of Naughty Monkeys

I feel Valentines Days is largely a commercially generated holiday designed to sell cards, chocolate and all other manner of love-themed merchandise. It gets even harder to believe in the sentiments it represents when your toddler wakes up in what I like to call the "no way in hell mode" - as in, "there is no way in hell I'm going to do anything you want or need me to do today without a fight." And fight me she did. She fought me through the diaper change, the dressing, the doing of the hair...even getting her physically out the door was a challenge. Jaden decided she had to open the door on her own and we spent a few frustrating minutes deadlocked while she struggled to get her little hands around the doorknob. By the time I was strapping her into her car seat, already running fifteen minutes late for work, we had settled into a pretty grumpy little funk and I felt like bursting into tears. Ten minutes into the ride, a glance in the rearview mirror revealed my little girl was wearing the same expression of woe as Mommy and I began to thaw. Life is hard. Sometimes we just make it harder on ourselves then it needs to be and even we don't understand the reasons why. I decided our commute wasn't going to go out like that...Hallmark be damned! It was Valentines Day after all. I pushed track 5 on the CD player and cranked the volume. The infection sounds of Go Fish's Five Little Monkeys filled the car. When the first play drew no reaction, I hit repeat. By the third play, Jaden was smiling and signing along. By the fourth, I had joined in with her, not caring how foolish I looked as I mimicked her hand-motions; tapping my head and wagging my finger. Luckily by the time we arrived at her daycare, all was forgiven. We walked hand in hand to her classroom door and I was treated to both a kiss AND a hug. Sometimes nothing cures a bad morning better than singing about naughty little monkeys with your most favorite little Valentine.