If only hugs were always the answer

I had closed the bathroom door ALL THE WAY. That of course was the ultimate insult to Ranger.

"But mommy, I crying!"

I tried to stay calm as I struggled to find and pull the tiny sliver of iPad screen out of my thumb. It was not particularly painful, but hard to get out. With both kids crying calm was a hard state to achieve.

"Please mommy make me happy, pretty pretty please!"

Ranger was the one who accidentally knocked the iPad from between me and the couch; he was shifting to watch a show and his foot tapped my iPad just so, and it fell just at the wrong angle. He knew immediately the thing broke, and I did later apologize for snapping at him. In my defense, I was scared he would cut himself in his attempts to reach for it.

So he was crying and couldn't understand that I was trying to remove a sliver of glass. From my thumb. Once I had the thing out and my hands washed, I opened the door and asked him if he could help me with a band aid. He was still crying and upset and repeating that he was crying and could I please make him happy.

Finally I sat on the rug and asked, "What could make you happy right now?"

He melted my heart when he sniffed and said, "A hug."