Buddha Buddha and Other Necessary Emotions

"I'm just really thinking about it, Wallery."   

"Are you angry? Is that why you bit your cousin?"

"Wallery, I'm thinking."

"When you're mad, you say Buddha, Buddha, don't you?"

"Stop talking, Wallery."

And so begins our Wednesday.
She does say, "Buddha, Buddha" when she's angry.  I've always thought it to be significant and appropriate in a Zen sorta way.  I figure, if she's calling out to the Great Spirit of the Universe, while her teeth are clinched and steam is pouring out her ears, then that Great Spirit will certainly miraculously intervene.
We converse about feelings a lot, The Cousin and I.  We converse about many things.
I always acknowledge her plethora of feelings, reassuring her that they are all okay to have, but that some of them, especially anger, has to be funneled and expressed in such a way that we don't send others to the hospital.

                                                       "Show me your sad face."

                                                     "Show me your happy face!"

"Show me your surprised face."

"Show me your angry face."

" I am woman hear me roar."

She and I do have great conversations about the world in general.

"Wallery, do you like bees?"

"Yes, I love bees. We need bees to make our honey."

"Do you like spiders?"

"Yes, I like spiders too."

"Do you like all the animals?"

"I love the animals."

"Wallery, do you like ants?"

(Now this is a moment of truth for me, as I'm currently battling an army of the bastards at my house, yet I don't want to lie to the child.)

"Ummm...I like ants if they live outside, but not inside my house."

"Grandma doesn't like ants."

"She doesn't?"

"She has ants in her house."

"What does she do with the ants?"

"She calls the ant man."

"Oh." 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

Oh, the places Sweet Pea goes (and climbs) when we are not paying attention.

"Anybody noticing me?"

Sweet Pea is a carb-aholic. She goes ballistic over the word "cracker" or "cookie" and yesterday, while The Cousin was sleeping, I indulged her in one of her favorite entrees: Macaroni and cheese with minced broccoli.

"Kraft, I'm your girl!"

"It's the same crap you had when you were a kid, Baa Bee"

"Bring on the carbs, baby!"

"Is that all there is?"

True. Kraft Parmesan has been around since I was a kid. The stuff never loses it's popularity. Generation after generation, especially those that can't afford Chevre or aged Gouda, have shaken this container on their noodles. Hell, it's good shit!

Sweet Pea had 3 outfit changes yesterday, due to the massive carb party, a spitting of blueberry coconut smoothie and a diaper leakage of 'poop puree'.
The final outfit was a tribute to President Obama and his beloved dog, Bo.

Sweet Pea is a "hands-on" girl, as you know.  She loves dirt, rocks and anything she can climb. 

Put a harness, seatbelt or even a sweatshirt hood on her though, and she breaks loose like a caged bird. She digs her freedom. She's a real explorer and a shadow-kisser too.

There's a little bit of Sweet Pea in all of us.  But there's a little bit of The Cousin in all of us as well.

She's the thinker, the artist, the dreamer...

"Did you have a nice nap?"

"Yes, Wallery."

"Did you have a dream?"

"Yes."

"What did you dream about?"

"I dream about birdies."

"Oh! What were the birdies doing?"

"They were dancing!"

The dreamers:

The 'jump head first into a wall' explorers:

"You gotta an ouchie too, Baa Bee?"

When we look at our own selves, our own personalities and the components that make each of us the unique individuals that we are...

Isn't it such a glorious world of so many colorful hues?!

Keep being yourselves y'all!
~tpg