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“Uh-huh. She’s taking a break after chasing me earlier.”
“I guess that’s fair. How about you color a picture then? Or maybe you could finish the popsicle stick house? It’s still on the table.” I hitch a thumb over my shoulder in the general direction of the kitchen.
“But we’re making that together. It’s a group project. You hafta follow the rules.” Her insistence is admirable. She’s only in kindergarten, but there are moments when she acts much older.
“All right, what if your dolls have a pageant or something? You can be the judge.”
“Sally Sue already won.”
“Wow, that was quick.”
Syd wiggles in place. “I like to do stuff fast. When can we play?”
“It’s almost time,” I offer while reaching for a pair of jeans.
“You’ve been saying that forevvvvver.”
“Sorry, Boop. This stuff has to get done.” But ditching the mundane task is tempting.
“You need a helper,” Sydney chirps.
“Are you offering?”
There’s a desperate plea in her eyes. “But I already cleaned my room.”
“How about trying to find a pair for me?” I hold up two different socks.
“They don’t need to match, Daddy. I’ll wear those just like that.” She wiggles her toes into the carpet.
My head hangs low. “You could’ve told me that much sooner. This mission has been my Everest since you were born.”
“What’s an Everest?”
I blow the air from my cheeks with a grunt. “Mount Everest has the highest peak in the world. It’s a big deal when someone reaches the top.”
She blinks at me. “Have you climbed the mountain?”
I chuckle. “Uh, no.”
Syd rubs her forehead. “I don’t get it.”
“It’s just an expression. When something is really hard, people might say it’s their Everest. Much safer than climbing a mountain.”
Amusement brightens her expression. A shrill sound escapes her gaping mouth, and she slaps a palm over the noise. “You think finding matching socks is really hard?”
I narrow my eyes at her clever snark. “It’s harder than it looks, but someone’s gotta do it.”
That makes her lips squish to one side. “I think we need a nanny.”
I drop my jaw in offense. “For what? I’ve got this handled.”
She bounces on the balls of her feet. “But you take a super long time. If you had an assistant or something, we could do more fun stuff together. Laundry is reallllllly boring.”
And these are the moments where she definitely acts her age.
“We have plenty of time for fun stuff,” I mutter.
Sydney giggles. “It’s silly when you’re grumpy, just like Miss Harper said.”
