The first sign I should have clued into was the rage induced response to Hanna when Ellie was told, “You used to be a cell, then an egg, then you grew into a person in Mommy’s tummy.”

Ellie: Mom. Mom. Mommy!!!! Hanna just called me a phone. Then she said I was a bird in a nest before I was a baby!!!!

Once we could all agree (and laugh) about the difference between a cell in one’s body versus the cellular network we use to order Thai food and a human woman’s eggs versus the kind we fry up on Saturdays I thought everyone had calmed down.

That lasted only as long as it took the girls to arrive on the pool deck before their respective lessons.

They were giggling on the deck, playfully talking about whatever it is an almost six year old and eight year old talk about moments before diving into icy, cold water and I turned to observe Chloe who was in her usual spectator position—sitting next to, almost on top of a fifteen month old who always seems to have snacks as though the two were twins separated at birth.

My eyes glanced back toward the pool deck where I saw Hanna standing alone but no Ellie.

That’s because she had run up the stairs, through the change room followed by the waiting room and was standing next to me sobbing.

Ellie: Mommy, Hanna bloo blee blub glub meow glubber blooby goop

Me: Okay, take a deep breath Ellie, what happened?

Ellie: Hanna said, mroop shroop….

Me: Calm down, I can’t understand, what did Hanna say?

Ellie: Hanna said shewasgoingtotellaboy

Me: Slower

Ellie: Hannasaidshewasgoingtotellaboyinmyclassthat I-breath-wanted-breath-to-breath-take-breath-him-breath-out-breath-TO DINNER!!!!!!

I know she said, “Hanna said she was going to tell a boy in my class that I wanted to take him out to dinner!” but what I heard was, “Can I go to sleep?”