No. Stop it. Knock it off! Maybe later. NOT NOW. As mamas, it seems like we're always saying no, doesn't it? And of course, it's almost always justified and completely necessary in order to cultivate sensible, healthy and compassionate children. I get it. I do. But isn't it also a bit...crap? All this constant no-ing leads to tantrums and disappointments and painstaking timeouts, and it all starts to feel like one big, exhausting fight.
That's why I say, every once in a while, go ahead and say yes. To everything! All day! Sure, you'll be fighting twice as miserably the next day about why your kid can't go swimming in his robot briefs in the blow-up pool on a 58-degree day like he did the morning before. But, it's worth it. The unbridled joy, the confused but instant acceptance, the chance to be the hero and best friend for a whole day, the opportunity to just enjoy each other without the bracing responsibility of being a parent. (Not that I'm one to bow down to the church of consistency anyway...) Just look at Henry's reaction when I said that, yes, in fact he could have a face-sized chocolate chip cookie for breakfast.