Just Say No To….

Yesterday morning Emma asked if she could try one of my mints.

“But you don’t like mints,” I reminded her.

“I’ll like them this time!” she said, bouncing on her toes.

I was skeptical, but curious, so I handed one over.  Emma immediately popped the mint into her mouth and began crunching away with a sort of blind enthusiasm that I suspected she might later regret.  Within seconds her eyes began to water, and she dropped to the floor, clawing wildly at her tongue.

“I don’t like it!” she shrieked.  “Something is happening to my mouth!!”  Drool, spit and chunks of mint pooled on the floor in front of her.  She began to shiver.

“I’m cold,” she said, hugging her knees, eyes wide with regret.

“And that is why we say NO to mints, or to anything that LOOKS like a mint!” I announced triumphantly.

I am totally winning at parenting.