How Green Becomes Wood

"Mama, you're the best," Alec said sincerely.

It took them a fair amount of debating and comparing the pros and cons of the various choices on offer, and Xander very nearly walked away with "Super Gross Chemistry" kit, and Alec held the kit that promised to make crystals for a long time, but after some whispered conversation between the two, Xander chose the "Mega Sciences Amazing Reactions" chemistry kit that promised over a hundred experiments, and Alec chose the "Sensory Sciences" kit, which promised over twelve experiments that could be repeated over and over. They presented their choices to Dark with pride and all the excitement of six-year-olds trying not to freak out.
 
"Don't give me all the credit," Daizi told him, although she was flattered.

Dark looked over the two kits, then at his sons, his eyes both amused and tired, "Put down newspaper before you do these at the very least."

"What did you pick?"
 
"Sir, yes, sir!" the twins chirped. Then they turned to their mother and excitedly told her all about the two kits they'd selected, vying to be able to tell her their choice first and talking over each other.
 
"It sounds like fun," Daizi chuckled, "Just be careful if any of them turn out to be sticky. If even the littlest bit of something sticky is left unattended, we'll probably have to shave someone or something to get it out of their hair or fur. Your father couldn't take it if he had to shave his beard a second time."
 
As predicted, once it was time to pay, Ivy didn't want to hand her dolphin over, and so Dark had to just take it and let the employee scan it. Despite him explaining it would only be for a moment, Ivy immediately began to cry, and in this instance, her parents let her just be upset about it, because only a minute or two later, it was returned to her.

"See, Hummingbird?" Daizi said, "It was only going to be for a moment."
 
The twins watched and made note of this incident with interest, though both took care that their interest was not noted. They were accustomed to seeing their parents try to help Ivy move through her crying, not just letting her cry. They, of course, understood that Dark and Daizi, especially Dark, were not interested in the "let them cry it out" method, and that was fine, but it was interesting to see them both simply accept the crying and let Ivy be upset and then realize that there really wasn't anything to be upset about. Balance.
 
Although, yes, both Dark and Daizi preferred to help Ivy work through her feelings by teaching her names for her emotions, giving her empathy, and by redirecting her. Hopefully, the effort---because it was an effort, it was hard work---would raise her into an emotionally intelligent adult. It wasn't always possible to calm her, and often their tricks and plans would fall on deaf ears, but it wasn't about being able to perfectly handle her tantrums now, it was about building those social-emotional skills. Every interaction was just another building-block. Taking the time to tell her, I know you are mad about this, but this is why it is this way taught her boundaries and helped her understand the world. Letting her cry and just telling her no without giving explanations wouldn't do much to teach her about her rules.

All that said: they were in a relatively busy line, and they had already told her they need to give the toy to the cashier so they could buy it, and that buying it made it actually belong to her. Forcing this poor, minimum-wage employee to participate in their parenting by making them wait until they convinced Ivy to hand over the dolphin while holding up the line full of other tired parents and children would've been obnoxious. Anyway, she'd still learn about how buying things worked purely by experiencing it.

"Right," Dark said, setting Ivy into her stroller after taking her leash off of her, "Are you all ready to go home?"
 
"If it must end, it must end," Alec said dramatically, but he wasn't able to fully hide his grin as he clung to the bag with his treasured box in it. He also had Xander's bag since Xander couldn't really carry it at the moment.

"I'm ready," Xander said, skipping the banter. "It's time to be done."

"All good things must come to an end. Otherwise, they stop being good things," Alec agreed.
 
"You are very wise," Dark remarked, only a bit amused.

"I think she's ready to go home too, it was a lot of walking for her," Daizi said, walking with them towards the car, keeping one hand on Dark's back so she didn't get lost, "She did better than I expected."

"It still impresses me she walks so well now, despite how long she has been able to," Dark commented.
 
"I think she will grumble when I make her run with her own legs rather than just pushing her in the stroller at great speeds," Dark said, leaning forward to see his daughter's sleepy face in the stroller. By now, she usually only took one nap a day, but all this walking had tired her out early.

Smiling to herself, Daizi tipped her head back to feel the sun on her face. By now, all they could hear besides footsteps, and stroller wheels were cars, but she listened to the soundscape anyway. Breathing deeply, she let her husband guide her while she took it all in. "How long do you think it'll be before we stop counting?"

"Stop counting what?" Dark asked, turning his head to look at her.
 
"How long you've been here," Daizi explained, her face still tipped back towards the sky, "Talking about Ivy being able to run soon made me think about how she's closer to being two than to being one, and then I thought how this December you'll both have been here three years. So, I wonder how many years will go by before we stop thinking can you believe you have been with us for this long?"

"I do not know if we will stop, we still count the years we have been married despite having been married for a decade," Dark suggested.

"Sure, but off the top of your head, do you remember how many years we have been together, counting before our wedding?"
 
Alec smiled happily. "I don't know if I'll ever stop thinking that," he said quietly.

Xander mused. "Maybe when something else happens to take over the counting," he suggested thoughtfully. "Like a different relationship or something."
 
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