Assault on The Wall

Elaina spends a lot of her day playing in an area of the living room we call "The Corral". It's separated from the rest of the living room by an impenetrable Wall of plastic tubs. One of us is always with her, but the advantage of The Wall is that you don't have to be lightning-fast when Elaina's walled-in. Lately, though, Elaina is getting very close to walking, and with that, the assaults on the Wall have become more frequent.

You'll notice that in the picture above, the Wall has already been augmented as a result of an earlier attack. The cracks in the Wall have been mortared with pillows. For awhile, that proved too intimidating to be challenged. Now, however, Elaina has become more daring. Here, Heidi has captured on film Elaina's attempt to cross through the pillow-mortared gap in the Wall by brute force.

Temporarily defeated by the Wall, Elaina takes comfort and counsel from her dragon friend, Bernice.

Dragons are terrible manipulators, so it's not surprising that she emerges from her huddle with Bernice with guile in her eyes.

"Look at what an angel I am. I won't get into any trouble on the Other Side...."

Ah, but Mommy's will is too strong. She resists Elaina's compulsion and the Wall remains intact.

Undeterred by her failed attempt at angelic persuasion, Elaina moves on laughing unconcernedly about the Wall. She assures her mommy that the Wall's days are numbered. That once she's walking, the power of the Wall will diminish. And she urges: "Mr. Mommychev, tear down this wall!"

I can't help it. It's in my head every time I look at the Wall. I know—it's a horrible reach. Elaina doesn't even sound like Ronald Reagan (yet).