MyThreeDaughters

When I was growing up, we had these paperback collections of Hank Ketchum’s Dennis the Menace cartoons. We had at least half a dozen books and I read every one.
One of the cartoons that I remember went something like this: Dennis woke his Dad and called him in, because Dennis was thirsty and wanted a glass of water. Dad dutifully came in with the water and Dennis rejected it: “This is bathroom water,” Dennis said, “I wanted kitchen water.”
Fontaine, the six-year-old, has always been a rule follower and rarely if ever leaves her room after being tucked in. Elizabeth, the almost-four-year old, sometimes busts that rule four, five, six times a night.
By the time I get down the steps, I turn around and she’s there. “Daddyyyyyyyy,” she says in a sweet voice, then comes the excuse.
Daddyyyyy, I’m thirsty.
Daddyyyyy, I can’t sleep.
Daddyyyyy, I’m too tired, so I can’t sleep.
Daddyyyyy, it’s too dark in my room.
And the one I just got interrupted with right this minute as I was writing this. (Sometimes, they make these entries way too easy for me.)
Daddyyyyy, there’s too much light the way I am sleeping.
“Well, turn around and face the other way.”
Elizabeth still sucks her thumb, and we’ve been trying to get her to wean herself.
The other night, after one of these disruptions, after she had literally come downstairs six times in 10 minutes, I lost it.
“Elizabeth, go upstairs, get in your bed, put your thumb in your mouth AND SUCK IT!”