24.4.10

The Wolfses

I can pinpoint the exact moment the obsession began: early October 2009 as the four of us sat around my laptop browsing Ebay for Halloween costumes. I announced that what would be extremely fantastic (and only slightly nerdy) was if the Mountain Man dressed as a man werewolf and Javi dressed as a boy werewolf. A) The werewolf costumes are ridiculously poorly thought out and B) I'm Team Jacob.

They dismissed my idea after a good five minutes of looking at werewolf costumes (and the Mountain Man went on to refuse to be a daddy bumblebee and wound up dressing as absolutely nothing), but a certain then-2-year-old was traumatized. She talked about the where-da-woolds for weeks after: that they're "ebil," that one was hiding in her room, that they were responsible for bad things. She'd routinely come to me and say, with big brown saucer eyes, "Dat where-da-woold gone eat me!"

I did what most parents do when a child develops a fear of something -- that is, I ignored it. Over time, that where-da-woold obsession morphed into a plain ol' wolf obsession. We did an ABC sticker book and the W image was a wolf. We read a book of fairy tales and the bad guy was always the wolf. Slowly, wolves became less scary and more accessible.

So now the wolf is her "bess fwiend." She wakes up in the morning with stories of how the wolf slept in her bed and rubbed her back. When she gets in trouble for something, she turns to her side and says in a stern voice, "Wolf! You bad for that!" And then turns back to me, shrugs, and says, "I gonna hafta spank him." And then stomps away.

Everyone she sees on a somewhat daily basis is familiar with the wolf. Her teachers make room on her cot for him at nap time and send him to the corner right along with her when she's naughty. I have to give him his turn to sing in the car. The Mountain Man washes his hair in the tub every night. He's simply part of our lives at this point.

So when my little girl tells me she has a heart full of wolfses, I am not at all surprised. She's as wild and fierce and protective and instinctual as any wolf I've ever heard of. And if you catch her on a bad day, she's just as dangerous. One day she'll forget she carried a wolf in her heart, but it'll be one of my most cherished memories.

18 comments:

  • Mandy P

    This is such a sweet post. I love that her teachers accommodate her. =) Such a sweet little one. I have a 2 year-old daughter too and it's amazing the things that come out of her mouth! COngrats being the featured blogger at Lady Bloggers today! Now following!

  • liz

    That story is both funny and sweet! Congratulations on being the featured blogger! Also, I'd love to know who did your site. I like what LBS said about it being so clean. I was guessing it would be a WP blog, but you are on Blogger! I LOVE it! Please let me know!

    Liz
    http://www.bellebeanchicagodog.com
    bellebeandog@gmail.com

  • Sugar Bear

    Very sweet! My son had a wolf obsession for awhile...now it's Superman..lol

    Congrats on being featured on LBS!!
    Have a great day.

  • dianeswords.wordpress.com

    interesting. first time i've heard of a kid having an obsession with a wolf--but definitely better to like them than fear them. happy featured blogger day!
    drop and visit me---my blogging welcome matt is ALWAYS out. dianeswords.wordpress.com

  • Karen M. Peterson

    That is so cute! And I'm glad you're teaching her right from the start to choose wolves over vammpires!

    Congrats on being the featured Lady Blogger!

  • Sharlene T.

    Happy Lady Bloggers Day!

    I am, too, wolves are so much nicer -- and, they'll pick up the check! (Couldn't resist. She has years before that'll work for her.) It's fun to watch them go through all their phases...and, it's trying for the mommies.

    Now, I'm off to read some more posts. Come visit when you can...

  • See Mom Smile

    Congrats on being the FB today! You are a great writer. I'll be back!

  • Anonymous

    lol too cute! you know i'm always a fan but congrats on being the lbs featured blogger!!

  • Unknown

    Very sweet :) Congrats on your LBS feature!!

  • Anonymous

    That is really sweet! My daughter was like that about spiders until I named one and now they are ALL her friends!!!!

  • itsybitsyknitsy

    So sweet! I love it! Stopping by from Lady Bloggers!

  • Laura E. Sanchez

    Hi congrats for being feature on the Lady Blogger Society, i work from home also, like you, I really like your blog, so I became one of your followers.

    Thoughts of a Career Woman

  • Heather

    Hey there! Visiting from Lady Bloggers!

    My daughter is only two, but I'm sure I will be hearing about "imaginary" friends sooner or later. :) How cute that hers is a wolf! lol

    I'm a new follower! http://www.gerberdaysblog.com

  • allison

    Oh great -- I'm supposed to say Happy Sits Shareday Saturfest or something, and not only is that twisting my mental tongue, but everybody else is talking about LBS (that's not Mormons, is it?). Anyway, I love your daughter wolf story (it reminds me of when my daughter used to wander around going 'oh no! wittle wamb! she's wost!)

  • Unknown

    Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. That is the sweetest : ) And funniest little story. So crazy : )

  • Cheri

    What a sweet story! And thank you for indulging my question about the origin of the "wolfses" - makes having them in her heart so much more understandable. Go team Jacob!

  • Anonymous

    That was such a sweet story! Loved it! Visiting form The Lady Bloggers. Great post!

  • Cheryl

    I *love* this!

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