In The Life of a 7-Year-Old

Today, I came home from school and was exhausted. All I wanted was a nap, but I had a few errands that I needed to run, so a nap was definitely going to have to wait. My phone was nearing 20% and for some of my errands, I would need to use it.  I figured that I could definitely just plug in my phone and let it charge while I laid down on my bed for a minute. 

About 5 minutes later, my phone goes off, and I am wondering who would be calling me.

It was probably Aricka. But then I remembered that Aricka was in class.

It was a call from "Home". 

I instantly thought this was really weird because when my mom calls me, she always just calls from her phone. I answered it with the expectation that my mom would want to know two things. First, she would ask about my day, then she would ask if I had met any cute boys today. 

However, that was not the call I received. 

My mom asked if I was in class, and I reassured her that I was not. Then, she asked if it was okay that Brooke asked me a question. I said that of course Brooke could ask me a question! I said yes, and she hands the phone to Brooke. 

Brookie then says, "Hi Alice. I have a big decision and I need the answer today."

I am thinking, "What in the world could Brooke, a 7-year-old, be having a huge dilemma over??"

She then fills me in.

She turns 8 this month, and for her birthday, she gets to pick an American Girl Doll. Her problem is that she cannot pick between Samantha or a look-alike.

I know that anything I say, she will do, so I avoided telling her which one to get until I could really figure out which one she really wanted more than the other.

I imagined the two in my head and started asking questions. The conversation went a little like this. 

A: Do you like long hair?

B: Yes.

A: Well Samantha has longer hair.

B: I know.

A: Which one do you want?

B: I DON'T KNOW!

A: Do you like brown hair or blonde hair?

B: I LIKE THEM BOTH!

A: Do you want to play with their hair?

B: Yes.

A: Samantha has longer hair. You can play with it more.

B: But I can't decide.

A: Do you want a doll that looks like you or not?

B: I DON'T KNOW!

We went on like this for like 20 minutes. She was so distraught. 

Then, I asked her to show them to me. I thought Samantha's outfit was cuter, so I told Brooke that I thought it was cuter. She agreed, but then said, "But I can buy clothes for the look-alike!" Okay.

Finally, I said, "Let's make a Pro/Con list". I had to quickly explain to her what that was, and she agreed. She told me to hold on real quick. She needed to grab something. She came back with a pen and paper. She was going to write it all down! 

Sure enough, we made a pros and cons list, while Hannah watched us. She eventually was the one to actually write it all down for Brooke. After we finished the list, I asked if there was anything else she wanted to add. She said, "Let me look at this." Then, she studied the paper. 

I told her to go with Samantha, but then, the truth came out. 

Brooke FREAKED out. She told me that she really wants the look-alike, but everyone else is telling her to get Samantha. HA! I figured it out. She really wanted the look-alike. She was just feeling pressured to get Samantha, even if she really did want it. 

I ultimately told her to go with the look-alike, and I think she did. 

Yay!

If only the detrimental decisions in my life were about which doll I wanted for my birthday.

I also just adore my baby sister and all of her spunk.