Carrie's Sweet Side

After months of sharing what has jokingly become called "The Badness of Carrie", it is finally time to show her sweet side. It came at Daniel's expense, but it was precious none the less.

Last night we were in the midst of that daily routine called bedtime when the tears started rolling. Last night was a little different because in addition to making lunches, taking showers, finding book bags, and getting pjs on, we also had to pick out clothes for picture day and sign report cards. It was a bit hectic. I had sent Daniel upstairs to find a nice shirt to wear for pictures. One with a collar. And some buttons. No t-shirts. Must be clean. Even though we no longer buy school pictures, I wanted him to look nice for the yearbook. It's important right?

What happened next isn't entirely clear. His dresser is wobbly and, though it isn't the one with the tip-over record, it doesn't exactly inspire confidence that it'll stay upright while you search for a shirt. Plus half the handles are missing. Michael and I were in the room under Daniel's when we heard a huge crash. Now, this is not really unusual. I often think he, or something he owns, is coming through the ceiling, but this one was definitely worth investigating. I followed Michael to the stairs where we looked up to see Daniel sobbing on the landing. I mean big tears and he couldn't talk. He kept crying something that sounded like "my pinky, my pinky..." Anxious to get to him, I urged Michael up the steps, Carrie following right behind me.

On the floor in front of his dresser was a broken and shattered piggy bank.

What's left of it

My "pinky" was actually my "piggy". Apparently the dresser tipped just enough that the pig slid forward, fell onto the edge of the open drawer and shattered into hundreds of shards. The pieces and coins were everywhere. I knelt down on my knees and took Daniel on my lap while he mourned his piggy bank and Michael began cleaning up.

That's when we learned that Carrie has a heart. A big heart with a special place in it for her brother. She walked up beside him and put her hand gently on his shoulder. Then she leaned over to look him in the eye and said, "Daniel, I have a pink piggy bank in my room you can have." He was too upset to do more than shake his head so she backed up and sat on his bed for a minute. Then she reapproached him, offered a hug and said, "I'm sorry your piggy bank got broked."

Definitely a good start in mending her bad-girl reputation.