All grown up at the tender age of four & a half

Mothers know better than to do this, but fellow baddies and I still do it anyway every once in awhile in a pinch; I let both Fiona and Nora continue to play in the basement while hauling a double armload of baby clothing up the basement stairs to the dining room staging area. I knew I was headed right back down, and figured that saying something about my absence would probably encourage more problems than simply hurrying away and back as fast as my legs would carry me. The girls prefer each other's company to virtually anything else anyhow, and don't yet get into hot water together. So off I went.

When I returned to the basement stairs, my heart skipped a beat. I was greeted at the top by Fiona, who was mumbling a made-up song to herself. Just to be clear, she was all by herself. I suffer no delusions that it is my four year old's job to be her sister's keeper, so I didn't even mention it to Fiona, but I DID need to get downstairs pronto to check on Nora. That basement in particular is no place for our inquisitive toddler, or probably any kid. It's currently chock full of yard sale "treasures" of various types.

Physically moving Fiona aside, I hustled down the stairs, saying, "Excuse me, I need to go get Nora right now." Fiona, sounding at once imperious and exasperated, looked at me over her shoulder and said, "Please DO!"