Super Sister to the Rescue!

It's only 7:42 a.m., and we've already had such an exciting event in our home, I just had to record it for posterity. I felt it captured each of my children's personalities so well...

Rayna was headed into the bathroom this morning on her way to take a shower. Brynlee chased after her and Rayna let her in while she prepared to bathe. Soon, I hear Rayna whimpering in the bathroom and then she called for me. Puzzled, I unlocked the door and entered and Rayna, holding back the tears, explained that Brynlee put a Pet Shop toy down the toilet. I'm thinking "Big deal, get it out!" I walk over to check out the damage, and I see why Rayna didn't just get it out. The blue Pet Shop visor was being closely guarded by a hovering yuck.

Rayna begins to loudly mourn the loss of her plastic treasure which calls the attention of the other children. Jaeda and Ian come to investigate the situation. Ian's eyes light up as he exclaims: "Oh, I think I know how to get it out! I'll just wrap a rag around my hand and..." I very indiscreetly interrupted his ingenious idea with an outburst of laughter as I explained that the rag would not protect his hand from the defiled water. (In his defence, he just explained to me that he didn't care about the dirty water, he just didn't want to touch the floating yuck.)

Rayna, still wailing, walks to the kitchen in search of some long handled tool that might help her extract the object of her heart's desires. Holding Brynlee, I'm thinking to myself that that toy isn't worth the effort. Let's just flush it and get over it. We all made our way back to the bathroom to give our last respects. Rayna guards the flusher and without any warning Jaeda simply reaches down and snatches the sapphire treasure.

Dumbfounded, I grab Jaeda's arms and hold them over the sink as I squirt soap up to her elbows and wash her arms as I giggle at the lack of inhibition showed by my 4 year old. Jaeda quietly observed what was happening. She wanted to help Rayna out, so she did. That simple.

After Jaeda was cleaned up (I will be giving her a full bath after I type this up just to help me know for sure she is all clean), I had her take the toy and put it in the already running dishwasher to disinfect it. It wasn't till then that I thought I ought to document this moment. Here are some victory shots that show her toughness and braveness. When we were done with our photo shoot, Jaeda runs out of the bathroom and yells "SUPER SISTER TO THE RESCUE!"

My kids' personalities:

Ian, age 9: Such a problem solver. Always eager to help and find a solution, even if he must sacrifice a bit. He loves his sisters and is even willing to stick his hand in toilet water if that's what it will take to be the hero.

Rayna, age 7: Such a good big sister to Brynlee. Brynlee loves her and wants to be with her all the time. She is so sensitive and tender hearted. She loves everything and everything is special to her. A times she is overcome with emotion, but even amongst her tears, she tries to work through her anxiety to solve the problem.

Jaeda, age 4: Fearless and tough as well as beautiful and feminine (as noted in her princess dress she emerged from her room wearing first thing this morning). She's a no-nonsense kind of girl. The world is simple and black and white to her. She loves Rayna and simply wanted to be "good to her". When I asked her about the water and how no one wanted to touch it and what was she thinking she said "To go in!" Simple as that.

Brynlee, age 16 months: Sweet and innocent. Loves Rayna. Wants to be with her and do what she is doing (Rayna was putting something in the toilet, too, you know).