Pruned Fingers

I wondered when it would happen and tonight it finally did. Reagan, now 25 months old, got out of the bathtub and stared at her wrinkled little fingers. She looked from one hand to the other, not saying a word, just studying something she'd never seen or noticed before. I was the quiet observer, wishing I could tap into her little brain to know what she was thinking. After giving her some time to contemplate the changed appearance of her fingers, I did my best to explain that all fingers look like prunes after being in the water. I tried to reassure her that it happens to everyone, even Mama. As I finished the rest of the bedtime routine, she continued to look at her fingers and repeat what I had told her, saying over and over "it happens." She was satisfied with an explanation as simple as that: it just happens.