My Friend Ethan.

Well, today was one of those days where you just kind of gut it out and nothing is really so horrible but you're just kind of in survival mode to make it through. I had a particular case of the grouchies at lunch today and Ethan said,

"Mommy, why are you making that grouchy face?"

"Well, because my body hurts right now (menstrual cramps), and I'm just really tired and I get frustrated that I spend so much time cleaning things in our house and I look around and I can never really tell that I did anything."

"Why do you get frustrated?"

Man, I don't think he really knew the profundity of THAT question...
Anyway, at some point he said,

"Well, you can have one of my woobies! Here, you can have O.T. He makes people feel really happy."

(O.T. is an orange teddy bear that we got at walmart while we were pretend playing the arcade games and a well-groomed hispanic teenager walked up, played the crane stuffed animal game, won a teddy bear, handed it to Ethan, and then walked away before I could more than blubber a bewildered thank you...I felt guilty for wondering if he had ulterior motives of some kind because in the end I really think he was just being a nice person--and you know, being nice to a stranger is practically a crime these days and makes you suspicious. Random Tangent.)

So I held O.T. while I made lunch. When we sat down to eat, Ethan said:

"Mommy, do you feel better?"

"Um... yeah. A little bit."

"Then, you can have Bo, too. He helps people feel really really happy. If you have TWO friends then you will feel better."

"Thanks Ethan. And you know what I really really need? I need an Ethan hug, because you are my best friend EVER."

Man, I love that kid.

PS--just as a footnote, I have a friend whose daughter has a "woobie." It's a small little blanket with some different textures sewed onto it and little loopies to play with and stroke and hold. When she and Ethan play together, her "woobie" is one thing she is not expected to share, and Ethan doesn't have to share his dog Bo. So, at our house, "woobie" has come to mean a stuffed animal that is VERY special to you. K, the end.