Yellow Straw

When my daughter was younger she used to help me in the kitchen as I made our lunches on the weekend. She was in charge of pouring our drinks, and always finished her task by inserting a straw into each glass. Taking from our favorite colors, she would give herself a blue straw and me a green straw. As she grew older, she left the lunch making and the drink pouring to me. When I would serve the food and bring out our drinks, she would always make a production out of swapping out my straw with a green one if I used a different color. Sometimes I would even put a different color straw in my glass just to start the game.

Over a few years, I came to subconsciously view this as a sort of test of my daughter's devotion and attention. I would put a yellow straw in my drink and hope that she would notice and change it out. It was a way that she told me that I was important to her. A few years ago I started to use a yellow straw in my drink. Since I made this switch, she has not noticed it.

I know that she is too old to play at such children's games, especially when she does not even remember the game or know that the game is being played. I know that she loves me with all of her heart. I know, but just once more, I would love for her to remove that yellow straw and replace it with my favorite green one.