Another night in the trenches. Maybe it's the holidays or something. I can pitch FIDO all I want -- they're not letting it go.
Boy-Child (unprompted): "Know what I was thinking? It totally sucked how Mom ditched us yesterday."
Girl-Child. 20 minutes of bed-time crying. "Mommy started it! Why didn't she give you a second chance?" She was going through her usual short-list of things that aren't as good now -- I bought her this "Santa Buddies" movie she'd wanted to put into the holiday video rotation, for example, and she said, "If Mommy didn't start divorcing you then the movie would be even better!"
Then the real heart-breaker. I was just there-there'ing and Daddy-is-here'ing and it's-okay-to-cry-on-my-shoulder-that's-my-job'ing, and in the midst of her go-to list of stars that just don't shine as brightly anymore, she stopped dead in her tracks, flipped over on her side to look me straight in the eyes and said, "Oh no! This is happening to you, too!" It was if she realized for the first time that she and Brother aren't the only ones with feelings.
