Geckos!

Dear Sonia,

You apparently have lizards at your house. And a green one lives in the bush by your back door. And he ran out and stopped the other day, right when you were sitting in front of the door. But you, you were busy looking at the birds and didn't notice Mr. Green Jeans. So your mommy pointed him out to you. But to do that, she tapped on the door. Well, my little niece, the combination of the tapping and the lizard running like the dickens scared the poop out of you! You started crying and freaking out and climbing into Mommy's lap.

Now here's a little secret. Your mommy has always gotten pleasure from other people's pain. She LOVED America's Funniest Home Videos when it first came out when we were kids because there were lots of videos of people falling down or getting scared. She used to laugh when someone got hurt in a funny way. So, there she is, hugging you and telling you it's okay, that the lizard isn't going to get you, trying not to laugh herself silly.

Then, you had to go out that very door to get outside and on top of it, you had to carry the bowls you and mommy needed for finger painting. But you weren't really looking forward to going past the bush, which you still weren't clear about. Did the bush move? Was there some leaping leaf that was going to get you? What was that thing that moved?

So, there you are, one hand full of bowls, the other hand holding Mommy's hand so she can help you over the threshold, and you are looking at the bush the whole time saying "No, no, no" to it. (This little trick, taught to you when you were only about 8 months old and couldn't even say No yet, is to help you self-soothe when something scares you. It was originated by Simba's barking scaring you. Now you use it with everything. Noisy trucks, scary things, bushes....)

While your mom was telling me this story, she was laughing so hard she could hardly even get the words out. See, this is how we continue to love you so much even when you are making us crazy. We have comic relief from the fact that you, little child, are scared to death of a bush.

Hope you actually see the lizard soon. They are cool!

Love you,

Auntie K