Pink talks often about how when she grows up, she's going to marry daddy. Sometimes she breaks out, "But if I can't marry daddy then I'll marry Uncle PatPat," but generally she's very loyal to the main man in her life. Today, though, as she wondered if she'll be the flower girl in her friend Squeaker's wedding, and I informed her that she'll be a little old, she told me that he's going to marry his sister, Odie. "Too bad," she said, "cuz I thought I was going to marry him but he's marrying her. Now I won't have anyone to marry."
"What do you mean?"
"Cuz it's illegal to marry a dad, so I can't marry daddy." With quiet desperation in her 4 year old voice, she added, "And now I can't marry Squeaker. But who will I marry?!?! I don't have any boys in my family!"
"Oh, sweetie, who told you it's illegal to marry daddy?"
"Miss J did at school."
And that did it. I happened to like Miss J before this. I thought she was every kind of nurturing and sweet and gentle and supportive. Reason tells me Miss J is probably just as fantastic as she always was. But she told my 4 year old that it's illegal to marry her daddy, the man she's head over heels for. It's not like she'd go on believing this forever. I wasn't worried that I'd have any true competition. It's just that her little girl heart was in love and devoted and yearned for his affection, innocently wanting to spend forever with him. Now finding that her friend is taken by his sister and that she has no brothers herself, she believes that she will never marry.
It's like finding out Santa's not real, only I dare say a bit worse. Her little bubble is so burst. :( And I'm soooo not happy with Miss J. Grrrr.
