"Beauty is Pain" and other Schei Shorts

BEAUTY IS PAIN

I [discretely] rolled my eyes at Katie this morning as she asked me to put her pink and black Hello-Kitty-Found-In-My-Happy-Meal-Yesterday wristwatch on the 'tightest' fitting... she squinted as I squeezed the nodule into the proper hole (custom made by Dad as the stock holes were made for someone larger). I apologized for how tight it was and asked if she wanted me to loosen it. To that question, she shook her hair from her face, lifted her chin and sniffed back the snot and tears... she grinned through pained eyes and said, 'no, Mom. Than it would just fall off.' Under my breath I said, 'beauty is pain, my child. Beauty is pain.' She heard it. I didn't think she had and when she asked what I said I just chuckled, 'nothing love.' But not a moment later, Katie was reciting it to herself as if it were her new mantra. 'Beauty is pain. Beauty is pain. Beauty is pain.' I wouldn't have been all that concerned had she not been swaying back and forth with her eyes closed and rubbing the sides of her temples... For goodness' sake! I HAD been considering the thought of looking into some child modeling for Katie ONLY because she is a natural in front of the camera... but I'm not so sure it wouldn't completely destroy her sense of inner beauty and the importance of.
(photo: Pacific Northwest born model, C.E. Schei, and her young beau, Leo, at the Parents Magazine Awards banquet last October)

VIOLENCE

As we drove to the park today Katie and William sat in the back discussing the technicalities of being 'squooshed' on the road. Whether that be themselves or some other mammal was what sparked my interest in the conversation. Oh no. Wait. WHAT sparked my interest in the conversation was, 'HEY MOM' and what immediately followed was Katie regurgitating the entire theoretical situation to me.

"It would be bad if you left William in the middle of the road and his head split open...' (to which William lifted his arms in the air and whispered loudly as if to claim victory over the moment, 'yeeeeaaahhh...') "... that would be bad. And then you'd have to go back and get him because he'd be in the middle of the road getting run over by cars." Immediately following was William in his oh-so-conservativeness, "yeeeeeeaaaaahhhh... and my body would be broken all over and my head would be split open..." as he made a warrior-like face. WHAT in God's good name did this kid think he would be accomplishing by dieing such a heroic/martyr-like death (or so it seemed he thought) at the mere age of 2 years and 11 months? I can only imagine what was going through his mind...

THE EARTH IS BEING INVADED (whatever that means) BY TRANSFORMERS

THE EARTH IS BEING BLOWN UP (didn't know what invaded meant) BY BIG BALLS OF FIRE

THE EARTH NEEDS ANOTHER SUPERHERO AND I WILL SAVE THEM BY BEING SQUOOSHED

... and oodles of other imaginative stories, I'm sure.


(TO BE CONTINUED)