Dear Mommy...

We have had quite a trying day and Sawyer has been pretty much at the center of most of the challenges. Tuesday, January 12, 2010 has pretty much been Sawyer's time to shine as the prototypical middle child. She has repeately done her best to gain negative attention, has irritated her sick, lethargic brother and has taken her time during each and every time-sensitive activity of the day. She is a hero for middle children everywhere who are trying to drive their parents crazy. She is tricky, resourceful and creative in her endeavors. She could teach a class on the subject. The irrational, tired Mommy inside me wants to scream and send her to her room however, the sympathetic, guilty Mommy has to think twice about why her behavior has been this way today. Here is an example of what I think Sawyer might write to me in a letter provided she had abstract, rational thinking and a mastery of the alphabet:

Dear Mommy,

You are my favorite person to hang around. Just like the guy in that "Happiest Toddler on the Block" said, you are my "rockstar." The thing is, you have been very busy doing a lot of things that do not involve me including (but not limited to): taking care of Eamon because he is sick, checking your email compulsively, doing laundry, cleaning, cooking, driving and making phone calls. The thing is Mom, that would be cool-except for the fact that it is cold and snowy and I am not allowed to go outside by myself. I feel kinda trapped in this house and I have no one to play with because Eamon is sick, Madda is at school and you keep doing all this boring stuff that I have no interest in helping with. Therefore, I am doing a lot of really irritating stuff to try and get you to stop doing all those mind-numbing chores and play with me. Seriously, can you blame me? I am just a kid and I need you to slow down and focus on me completely for just a small period of time. All you really have to do is get me engaged in something (not TV, that rots my brain even if it is PBS) and play for a little while before heading back to all the boring stuff. I'm not asking for much. I just need a little bit of your time to help me get focused so that I can cool off on being so irritating. You really have to remember that I'm just a silly little 3-year old and that I don't want to make you mad. I just want to hang aroung you and be your buddy. I just love you so much.

Love,

Sawyer Mae O'Bryon DeWitt