I Love You This Much

This morning as I sat combing Zoe's rat's nest of hair, I asked her, "Zoe, who do you love more than anyone else in this world? And don't say Jordan."

Jordan is her little friend from school and they loooooove each other. So much for my brainwashing therapy to convince her that all boys have cooties which are communicable merely by close proximity. Because cooties jump, and they jump far.

"You, Mom," she replied.

"What!" I exclaim. "You love me more than Daddy?! I thought you loved Daddy more."

Can you tell I'm trying to trip her up here? At this age, they're easily discombobulated.

"Well Mom, I have this little graph in my head, and yours has more love than Daddy's."

"Really? Explain."

"Well, every time Daddy is mean to me, I take a little tick away. And every time you are mean to me, I take a little tick away. Daddy's graph has more ticks away than yours, so I love you more."

Excellent.

I don't dare ask about Mattie Cake's graph though. It's probably off the chart.