The Princess Who Talked Mean!

A story about Hannah - this doesn't represent her "best" side, but I have to admit it's funny. Her teacher came to me this afternoon to show me something Hannah had drawn and written at school. She had finished her work early and turned it over on the back to do her own thing, something her teacher encourages. She drew a girl with a beautiful flowing dress (big dress - think prom dress!). She drew speech bubbles coming out of the girl's mouth with these words:

"I hat yoou" (I hate you)
"Yoou meG" (You mean - she actually says it with a slight g sound)
"You Bose" (You Bossy)
"Cit" (Quit)

Good writer, huh? I'm proud of her emerging writing skills. Her choice of words, however...She's not allowed to use the word "hate", and we've been talking a lot about "nice words" lately. Oh, the things they learn as they get older!! ughh. Anyway, in a different color marker, she had another speech bubble with the words "I soRe" (I sorry).

So, I was embarrassed. Her teacher wasn't showing it to me for that reason, she thought it was funny. And it was... I guess at least she's getting her frustrations out on paper by saying the things there I won't let her say out loud. Maybe I should buy her a journal!!

So tonight, as I was going over her work in her folder, I pulled out this same paper. I complimented Hannah on the work part on the front. Then turned it over and looked at the back again. This was our conversation.

Me: Tell me about this
Hannah: That girl said "You mean! you bossy! I hate you! QUIT!"
Me: Why did she say those ugly things?
Hannah: Because she's mean!
Me: Who is this girl?
Hannah: A princess.
Me: Who is she saying those mean things to?
Hannah: Her sister..uh..her older sister.
Me: What does this say? (pointing to the one in different color)
Hannah: She said "I sorry"
Me: Why did she say that?
Hannah: Because she was mean!
Me: That's a beautiful dress she has on. Is she going somewhere special?
Hannah: She's going to a ball..you know..a ball where people dance. She's going to a dance.
Me: That seems special. What do you think her mommy is going to say when she finds out she's been saying all these things that are not nice? Do you think her mommy will still let her go to the ball? Will she be in time-out?
Hannah: Her mommy will still take her to the ball. Because her mommy will FORGIVE (said loudly) her. She will just FORGIVE her and still take her to the ball.

(insert quick prayer by me for HELP!)

Me: Well, It's a good thing I'm not this princess' mommy. Because I would forgive her and still love her, but I sure wouldn't let her go to a ball. Because balls are special and only for princesses who know how to use kind words. She'd have to stay home since she doesn't know how to do that. Good thing I'm *your* mommy instead of hers. Because I'm sure *YOU* know how to talk nice and kind like a real princess!

Hannah: yeah!

SO..what do I do with THAT? :-)
The girl definately keeps me on my toes!!

Happy Easter!

*Please continue to keep Mary in your prayers! She's still in the hospital, had another surgery a couple days ago, still feeling rotten!* www.caringbridge.org/visit/princessbob

Happy Easter! We've had a great weekend here. We've had lots of fun hunting eggs, playing outside, making a cake (and licking the icing) and enjoying the weekend. Through it all, we've been telling and retelling and retelling that wonderful story that makes it all mean something, the Easter Story. We've read it, watched it on video, talked about it, and used Hannah's "Ressurection Eggs" she made at church last week to tell the story over and over. And honestly, it's been wonderful and tough at the same time. Wonderful to see the girls so interested and excited about the story. Mostly Hannah..Sadie's still a bit young. But Hannah at 3 would get excited and say "yeah, Jesus is alive". That's kind of where Sadie's at. Now though, Hannah can tell you the whole story..from the entry into Jerusalem through the last supper, Judas' betrayal of Jesus, praying in the garden, the crucifixtion, the tomb, the women coming to find the tomb empty the next morning...I mean..she can basically do it all. And it's great. But tough too..to see the story fresh through her eyes. She's had so many questions: why did they kill Jesus? Why did Jesus have to die? Didn't it hurt? Did he cry? Did he scream? Was Jesus scared? Was the cross heavy? Why didn't God help him? Why did Judas "trade" (betray) Jesus for money? That was not nice!! Why didn't the people who killed Jesus have to go to jail? What is sin? (umm..have you ever tried to explain that to a 5 year old? not so easy..) But Jesus didn't do anything wrong!! Her sense of the injustice of it all was obvious in her tone of voice and in her facial expressions. She would randomly ask these questions throughout the week (usually a bunch at once, then would go off to play and come back with some more later). Sometimes I didn't know if we'd ever get to Sunday and the ressurection! She was stuck in the stories of the week..in the darkness and the questions and the not understanding. I guess that's how the disciples felt too. I found myself wanting to hurry her along to Easter..to the ressurection..brush off some of the questions and let's get to the good part! But she would have none of that! So, we talked and talked and I answered the best I could those tough questions over and over. I don't know exactly how much she comprehended..I don't know how satisfying my answers were..and that's okay. I'm proud of her for asking the questions, and staying with it. For seeking an understanding even when it wasn't easy. And she helped me to view the story again with a fresh sense of awe, and mystery, and compassion, and sadness, and wonder, and finally..joy. Because in the end, He is RISEN!

And that makes all the difference in the world. So today, we remembered and celebrated that Jesus is Alive! Happy Easter!

(Hannah found these branches from a bush I trimmed on the driveway today. She decided to pretend they were palm branches and was waving them around shouting "HOSANNAH!")