Today, I wanted to post something lighthearted, something happy. But instead, I found myself suddenly quite sad, without really knowing why.
A Small Act, A Big Feeling
It had been a simple enough morning. My 7-year-old daughter asked if she could send a text message to the mother of her 2-year-old “sister” from Africa. I told her no. Three times, actually. Yet moments later, I caught her doing exactly that. When I confronted her, she lied; claiming she was just checking messages from a classmate. The truth surfaced when the mom replied to her message while I was holding the phone.
There it was: a double punch to the heart. First, disobedience; then, worse, the lying. It’s such a small thing—and yet, it isn’t.
Later, we sat down to talk. I tried to explain how lying is a strange thing: on one hand, every human lies a little, every single day. On the other hand, trust—real trust—only grows if we know we can tell each other the truth, even when it’s hard. We hugged it out. I felt better. She did too. No phone and no TV for the rest of the day, though.
Movies, Music, and Mischief
Instead, we turned to music. We listened to “Sweet Dreams” and its curious lyrics, and then wandered over to Annie Lennox’s “Why.” That song stirred the sadness again—deep, shapeless, hard to name.
We made grilled cheese sandwiches, because sometimes, that’s the answer: warm, simple, grounding.
Feeling lighter, we played a cover of “Paint It Black” from the Wednesday series. I showed her who played Wednesday; turned out to Jenna Ortega and we discovered she had also been in Beetlejuice. One IMDb rabbit hole later, we landed on Gremlins.
Nadia asked if we could watch Gremlins together. I checked the rating: PG. Interestingly, Gremlins was one of the movies that actually caused the PG-13 rating to be invented; before that, PG was as much as you got.
As I write this, she’s singing “Sweet Dreams” in the living room, her little voice full of life. It makes me smile. The sadness shrinks.
Still, Gremlins. It’s a tough call. I remember the evil ones causing mayhem and being pretty violent. But it was also funny and adorable at times. Maybe not just yet for her. Maybe soon.
Rules, Reminders, and Reflections
Oh—and that third rule I forgot? Besides “no water” and “no feeding after midnight,” the last rule was: no bright light. They hate bright light. It can kill them.
Funny how small rules in stories often echo the big rules in life. Sometimes breaking a small one feels harmless—until the gremlins start to appear.
Today ended lighter than it started. Thanks to music, grilled cheese, and a little girl singing “Sweet Dreams” into the afternoon air.
What's on your mind?