Beagle

It was Saturday—Elaina and my customary hanging-out day.  We spent it mostly outside, because she starts saying “Outside?” at roughly the moment her eyes open.

We were having fun, but we seemed a little at odds all day.  Father and daughter just weren’t seeing eye to eye.  I wasn’t sure why….  Just one of those days—or so I thought, before I understood the meaning of “beagle”.

See, Elaina had been saying “beagle” on and off all afternoon, which was odd because I didn’t really think she knew what a beagle was.  The neighbors have dogs…but not beagles. 

Finally, on the slide, when I guess I was being too much of a dad, cramping her two-year-old style, I realized what beagle was.  Not “beagle”.  “Big girl”. 

True, I had proclaimed her a “big girl” earlier in the week, but that was about getting her to go to bed without a fuss and taking naps and trying foods.  And I probably used it when we were outside, but I certainly didn’t intend for it to be a toe-hold of independence for her at age two.  What have I done?