"He was NOT the tooth fairy."

Selah recently went to the dentist for the first time.

She had questions about every single device and tool, machine, sound, plastic covering and especially any pastes or gels or colored tubes. Untrusting of the tools and situation overall, Selah kept her eyes trained firmly on the assistant with the sharp, loud, scary-looking tools. I think it may have been the assistant's first day on the job. Selah made her very flustered and nervous, and she dropped several sterilized items as Selah barraged her with questions. I kept assuring Selah that the best, most helpful thing she could do was to plant her little booty down in the chair, and just let them prepare for the exam.

You never want your first-ever trip to the dentist to be a traumatic one, but alas, such is life sometimes. Selah managed to swat the dentist's hand a couple of times as he attempted to administer her first novacaine injection. (This swatting resulted in her entire left cheek and upper lip to remain numb for at least three hours, which created quite a panic.) The dentist was great with Selah, and very kind and tolerant - but I can't say the same for his patient! It was highly traumatic, but thankfully, it was over quickly...

Nothing like a traumatic dental experience to motivate a life-time flosser! She was in tears on the way home, saying, "he was definitely, definitely NOT the tooth fairy. He shouldn't have been trusted."

Papa Smarter Than Mama

"Mama, I think Papa is smarter than you."

"Oh? Why's that?"

"When I ask him questions he knows the answer. When I ask you questions, you have to go and look it up."

"Huh. Hmph."

Our little inventive liberal.

"They should make a dog toy that looks like George Bush. That way, the humans can throw it out onto the ground, then the dog chases it down and chews it all up."

Angels on Both Shoulders

Before Winter break, Selah's teacher Miss Megan was explaining concepts of desire in decision making to the children in Selah's class. One of the students piped in, "it's kind of like having a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other!"

Miss Megan said, "Yes, it is like that sometimes."

Miss Megan told me just after this comment, Selah hopped up out of her seat and stood tall, saying, "Well, I've got angels on both shoulders!" And with that, Miss Megan smiled, sighed, and said, "I believe you do, Selah." And that's when Miss Megan decided that Selah should have the part in the Winter play of the character named "Brave Girl," which is a story of Santa Lucia. We'll post more pictures of Selah in her play as soon as we can find the proper cord for the camera.

Happy New Year, everyone!

The Eight Year Old Yogi

We are driving along the coast of the island, and Selah is looking contemplatively out the window. She turns to me and says she knows what a "psyche" is.

"A psyche is the part of you that already knows what all the answers are."

"what answers do you mean?" I ask.

"All the answers you ever need to know. They're already inside you."