Written by Rowonna McNeely – Monday morning, after I took Aaron his coffee, I headed into Kiera’s room to wake her. I love seeing where she winds up on the bed in the morning. Every now and then she sleeps in the same spot all night, but not very often.
“Kiera.” I singsonged, as I pushed her hair out of her face. “It’s time to wake up.”
After a brief moment, she stirred slightly and rubbed her hands over her face.
“I’ll go get you a cup of chocolate milk.” I said as I turned to walk away from the bed.
“Mommy!” She said loudly as I reached the door.
Turning back to face her, I asked, “What sweetie?”
Blinking her sleepy eyes at me, she held her arms out and said, “Can we talk?”
Now, I never quite know what to expect when she says that phrase. Different scenarios flash through my mind; is there a problem at school? Is there a problem at daycare? Is someone being mean to my child? Does she want to know how babies are made?
I hastily step back to her bed and perch on the side. “Absolutely, baby! You can always talk to me.” I encouraged.
She scrunched her face up and squinted her eyes at me, probably still trying to focus. “Why didn’t you and Daddy tell me y’all went swimming in the pool yesterday?” She asked in a sleepy but accusatory tone.
I did a slow blink as I thought about her question. First, the day before was Sunday and it was COLD. Second, we hardly ever go out to the pool without Kiera. Third, it was COLD.
“Honey, we didn’t go swimming yesterday.” I said as I played with her hair.
“Yes, you did. I saw you.” She stated emphatically.
I leaned down and hugged my sweet child. “No, baby. You were dreaming.” I said, refraining from giggling out loud. “It was just a dream.”
Finally placated, Kiera turned her iPad on to watch a cartoon and I went to tell Aaron about her dream.
“Guess what Kiera just said.” I stated in between chuckles. Aaron set his phone down and proceeded to listen to what had just happened.
“Isn’t that funny?” I asked after regaling him with Kiera’s dream.
He chuckled and set his coffee down. I turned to put my makeup on and heard him snap his fingers. I whirled around smiling and exclaimed, “Did you snap at me?”
There was a slight smirk on his face as he snapped again. “It’s as funny as that.”
My smile was replaced with confusion. “What?” I asked.
His smirk grew bigger as he said, “You don’t remember?”
Suddenly, I had a vague memory of something that had happened during the night.
Aaron began to laugh. “You snapped your fingers at me.” He said. “You were over there snoring… (I don’t snore.) and I turned my phone off, rolled over to go to sleep and all of a sudden, you snapped your fingers in my face!”
By this time, it was all coming back to me. “Umm…oh.” I wisely remarked.
“I asked you what and you responded with what.” He explained as he laughed. He continued on. “I asked why you snapped at me. You couldn’t tell me why… only that you think you were dreaming.”
I hung my head as I realized the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
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Rowonna McNeely
Graphic Designer - Mommy to Kiera
Rowonna McNeely works with her husband, Aaron, at Willie’s T’s in the Art Department, regularly volunteers in the community, and has her hands full with her daughter, Kiera, along with two dogs and one cat.
Rowonna is a graduate of May High School (Go Tigers!) and grew up on a dairy farm. She enjoys reading, creating, swimming, and planning events. She’s also a bit of a klutz.
