TEN DOLLARS!
TEN DOLLARS!
PLEASE DADDY,
TEN DOLLARS!
Mary Grace,
I can only afford
for you to spend five dollars
at the arcade.
BUT DADDY,
JUST TODAY,
TEN DOLLARS,
PLEASE!
Mary Grace,
you have two choices:
You can spend five dollars
at the arcade
or you can spend two dollars
at the arcade,
You have a choice.
FIVE DOLLARS DADDY!
FIVE DOLLARS!
I gave Mary Grace
the five dollars,
and she hugged my neck,
and skipped off
to spend her
five dollars.
That was back
when she was a kid.
We had this
reward/ritual
of going to the arcade
after she cleaned up her toys,
and packed her bags
before returning to her Mom’s
for school
on Monday.
I am fascinated
by patterns,
and our human nature
that craves boundaries
and enjoys choices.
it is IMPORTANT.
It is the Key to Happiness.
When I was recently
in Mexico
visiting Mary Grace,
I smiled,
recognizing the parallels
between us,
when she was a child,
and she and my Grand-Dog,
Princesa,
now.
Princesa
is Mary Grace’s
cute-as-a-button
little Blue Chihauhau.
Princesa
would jump
from floor to wall,
up on the bed,
then the ceiling,
wanting this,
licking that,
constantly begging
for unlimited play time.
She weighs,
like,
fourteen ounces
and has footlong legs.
PRINCESA!
NO MORE!
IT’S TIME
TO GET IN YOUR BED!
TAKE YOUR WIKI WIKI
AND GET IN BED!
Princesa
licked Mary Grace’s face,
grabbed her WIKI WIKI,
and got in her bed,
eyes twinkling
as she looked up
at Mary Grace
in worship.
There was Order in The World,
and it wasn’t about Control.
It was about Love.
It is Tragic
for Children and Pets
who have Parents
who don’t have the Courage
to say NO,
who think that their little loved ones
are THAT special,
and above reproach.
Tragic.
Ignorant.
Selfish.
Mary Grace Henry Madre de Princesa