ALL FOR THE LOVE OF YOU
"Happy birthday, Mommy!"
"Thank you, sweetheart. But my birthday isn't until tomorrow."
"I know, but I couldn't wait. I made you a present today."
"You made it? Aren't you a clever boy."
"Miss Nicholls helped me a little, but I did the most important parts all by myself."
"It's wonderful, Jimmy. It's a beautiful…flower?"
"It's a daisy. Like the song. Daisy, Daisy, Give me your answer do."
"I'm half crazy, All for the love of you. It's just what I wanted."
"I was going to pick some from Mrs. Fleming's garden, but they were all droopy and brown."
"I like this much better. It's special because you made it yourself. Did you use a pipe cleaner for the stem?"
"Uh huh. And for the leaves, too. They're nice and fuzzy."
"They are. Jimmy, why is the flower sticky?"
"It's still wet, I guess. I didn't have any white crayons and Ian got black in the white paint, so I borrowed the stuff Miss Nicholls uses to fix a mistake. It's nice and white and it smells, too. Not like a real flower, but maybe you can spray it with the perfume we got you… Oh. That was supposed to be a surprise."
"I'll pretend I didn't hear, okay? This is the nicest and biggest daisy I've ever seen."
"I wanted to make the petals smaller, but we only have scissors that work with the right hand, so it was hard to cut."
"Why didn't you tell me that, Jimmy? We'll bring your left-handed scissors to school on Monday."
"Miss Nicholls doesn't like it when I use my left hand. She says I need to learn how to use my right hand like normal people."
"Does she? Well, I think I'll have a little talk with Miss Nicholls. Being left-handed is perfectly normal. It's just not as common. And why didn't you tell me this before? Have you been trying to print and draw with your right hand since school started?"
"Sometimes. Mostly I just wait until Miss Nicholls isn't looking and use my left hand."
"Oh, Jimmy. I don't know whether to hug you or scold you."
"Hugging's better. 'Sides, I told Daddy and he said I should just keep using my left hand and not worry about what Miss Nicholls says."
"Well, that's just like your father. Better to pretend a problem doesn't exist than to actually deal with it. What kind of a message is that, telling you to ignore your teacher?"
"Just about that. I still have to behave and do everything else she tells me. And I already know how to print and everything else, so she's not really teaching me."
"That's true. But it doesn't mean your father is right. I'm sure there are other children she's trying to change, and that's wrong. Your Uncle Evan is left-handed, and when he was little, the teacher would hit his left hand with a ruler when he tried to write with it."
"Miss Nicholls isn't going to hit me, is she?"
"No, of course not. I didn't mean to scare you. But if anyone ever does try to hit you, I want you to tell me right away. Okay?"
"Okay. Michael punched me in the shoulder yesterday."
"Was that before or after you pulled his hair?"
"After. But he kept standing in front of the TV when I was trying to watch Bugs Bunny."
"Do you know what I really want for my birthday? For you and Michael to be nice to each other for just one day. Can you do that for me?"
"I can. Do I have to be nice to Peter, too?"
"What do you think?"
"I think it's going to be really hard if he scribbles all over my book again. But I'll try."
"That's my good boy. Let's find a vase for this beautiful flower. There. It's just like spring again. Now guess what I have for you."
"Cookies?"
"Chocolate chip. I baked them this morning. You can have one now and one after dinner. But only if you eat all your vegetables."
"Are they good vegetables? Because I don't think I can finish Brussels sprouts, even for a cookie."
"Peas and carrots. And don't make that face. Bugs Bunny would want you to eat all your carrots."
"Bugs Bunny's make believe. I'll eat my carrots because it's almost your birthday. And because you make the best cookies in the whole world. But I won't like them."
"Fair enough. Now give me a kiss and go wash your hands."
"Happy almost birthday, Mommy. I love you!"
"I love you, too, sweetheart. And you're still only getting one cookie."