"I Feel Sad and Angry"

Translation: "I feel sad and angry"

Princess Ariel formally handed me this note after family movie time last night. She said she was considering being naughty during the movie to express herself, then changed her mind and used her words instead because if she got a time out she might miss the good part. I thought that showed some very good reasoning and decision making and told her so.

When I asked her what she was angry about she said "I'm angry and sad because I miss my mom and because I miss my big brother." That last bit surprised me because she sees Big Brother every day and I said as much. She went on to explain that yes, she sees him every day when he helps her with her homework or picks her up from school, but he hasn't taken the girls to the park or to visit the cats at the cat hotel in a long time and that is what she misses. Big Brother was then consulted. He explained he has been working a lot of overtime, but he will make a point to take his sisters somewhere fun this weekend.

Sometimes the Big Feelings have big consequences and the solutions can be big and complicated, too. It was kind of nice, for once, to have the answer be something as simple and as sweet as a little girl just needing a little more quality time with her big brother.