This morning on our way home from dropping the girls off at camp Chloe from the second row of the van asked, “Mommy, where are the sisters?”

She had just walked both of her sisters into camp, hugged them, high-fived, told Mommy-can-never-know-I’m-whispering-this-to-you secrets before loading back into her car seat and heading to the grocery store.

Me: “The sisters are at camp for the day sweetie.”

Chloe: “Oh.”

Chloe: “Well, where’s Ellie?”

Ellie being one of the sisters, “Ellie is at camp today sweetie.”

Chloe: “Oh.”

Chloe: “Well, where is Hanna?”

Hanna being the sister that puts the “s”…make that, the third “s” in sisters. “Hanna is also at camp honey.”

Chloe: “Oh.”

Chloe: “Why isn’t Chloe at camp?”

“Well Chloe, when you are a little” (stopping myself) “When you get to be” (don’t go there) “When you have your birthday and you are” (tread lightly) “When you grow a little” (abort!) “When the time comes” (point of no return) “When you are bigger, you can go to camp.”

“I! Am! A! Big! Girl! I! Am! Big!”

Here we go.

“I can wear big girl underwear, I can swim with my dolphins, I can eat Cheerios on the couch!” (what? Who said she could eat Cheerios on the couch?)

“I can sleep in a “BIG GIRL BED!” I can go pee pee on the potty, I can…..

“Chloe, did you throw a pen in the washing machine this morning?”

“Yes.”

“When you stop doing that, you can go to camp.”

“Okay.”