The Troll

It has amused me for the longest time that Taufik loves to scowl and say to me, "I am so cross now Mommy." His arms crossed tightly across his chest. Or if he was furious he would say rather loudly, "I am mad now Mommy."

His eyes would be burrowed under his fierce looking eyebrows, little lips in a tight pout...a fierce looking monster. Totally adorable.

But this business of scowling at me has been going on for some time now, though I do encourage him to express himself, I thought a little leash on that scowling would do him some good.

And so I told him that people who were mad all the time were unhappy people. Sulking, moodiness, and whining made an unhappy person. Wouldnt you like to be a happy person? I would ask him. It wasnt really very effective so yesterday I tried a new tack.

"You know darling, people who scowl all the time will end up looking ugly like a troll when they grow up." "Would you like to be a handsome man, or would you rather look like an ugly Troll."

"Mommy, I want to be a handsome man." he said rather worriedly. "Then you should smile a lot." I said to him. "He quickly looked up at me and gave me a fake smile.

Now he is terrified of looking like a troll. Today when he started doing his troll thing, I shuddered rather exagerratedly and said, "Oh my gosh, when you're a man everyone is going to say, oh he doesnt look like a man, that's a troll and they will all run away from you, frightenned for their lives."

He didnt like that one bit, and sure thing a fake smile lit up his face. He was a 3 year old boy, very determined to grow into a handsome man.