No EXCUSE Necessary

Today I’m linking up with the Five Minute Friday community, writing for five minutes on  a given prompt.  This week’s word is EXCUSE.

 

When my oldest niece, Eriah, was three years old, she had quite a vocabulary. You could have an entire conversation with her, and would completely forget how young she actually was. One morning, she and I were making breakfast together. I had whipped up some pancake batter and had a chair pulled up to the counter so she could watch what I was doing and “help.” As I poured batter into the pan, she dutifully scooped up some batter and proceeded to pour it directly into the toaster.  Blobs of batter dribbled down the inside of the toast slots, all over the outside, and onto the counter.  I was so shocked at what she’d done, I looked at her and asked, “What were you thinking?” She just looked at me like I was crazy for asking her such a question. After I got that look in response, I stopped and realized I was asking a THREE year old why she’d just dumped pancake batter into the toaster.   There didn’t need to be an excuse for her actions. She simply didn’t know any better. Now that I have a daughter of my own, I keep this story in the back of my mind because I know these kinds of things are going to happen. I can’t get upset because she’s figuring out her world, and with that exploration, often comes messes.