I Don't Want to Grow Up!!

When I woke up this morning, the sun was shining and the temperature was warm but humid outside. The kids and I lounged in our jammies for an extra long time this morning and I was even able to get a few things done around the house while the kids played nicely. Between now and then, however, the sun has gone away, leaving rain and thunder. Both kids have had multiple melt-downs and I was even on the verge of a "mommy melt-down" myself. We left the house in the late morning to have lunch with a good friend. On the way to the restaurant, both kids started crying for trivial reasons ("My shoe fell off and is on the floor!", "My sister is singing and I don't want her to!", etc.) and they didn't stop their crying when we got to our destination. It ended up being a VERY quick meal because of two kiddos who decided that if they didn't want to have a good time in public, Mommy wasn't going to have one either. (Insert big sigh here.) I kept a smile on my face and apologized to my friend, who seemed to understand. The kids and I left the restaurant and I promptly told them that all the errands we were planning to run after lunch were not going to happen and we were on our way home so one or both of them could take a nap. This brought tears and complaints from both Caleb and Hannah, while I listened, exhausted myself. Then something funny happened. Caleb stopped crying and Hannah continued. Caleb attempted to start a conversation with Hannah and it went something like this:

C: Hannah, you know, someday you're going to be a grown-up.
H: (SOB) NO!!!! I don't want to be a grown-up!!!!
C: Yes, you really are. You're going to drive a car and everything.
H: (SOB) NO!!! I don't want to drive a car!!!!
C: Hannah, really you are going to grow up. All the grown-ups used to be kids, like us.
H: NO!!!
C: Yes, even Mommy used to be a baby and she was only this big (gestures with his hands) when she was born.
H: NO!!!! (Sobbing) Mommy was NOT a baby!!!!

No matter how frustrated I was at the situation, I just had a giggle when I heard this. Hannah was sobbing and sobbing all because her brother told her she was going to grow up someday, just like all the other people in the world. Lucky for me, all that crying wore her out even more and she took a nap in her bed when we got home (with no fuss, mind you) for the first time since we took the front of her crib off. And wouldn't you know....the sun is shining again. :)