Things you never expect to hear from a child

"Mama, next time you need to make the cookies smaller. These are too big!" says a teary eyed Big Dog in a voice wavering under the weight of his frustration. He'd had a long day and the size of the after dinner cookie seemed to be the straw that broke the camel's back. Too much cookie was just too much.

In my defense, I followed the recipe down to the point of weighing the cookie dough mounds prior to baking. This is how big the cookies were meant to be. To be completely honest, they were kind of huge, but given how delicious they are, you'd think it was a good thing. But when you're 5 years and you're too tired and you can't finish your treat, even the bounty of deliciousness can turn into a point of exasperation.

Last night I baked up another batch of cookies, but this time I scaled them back by nearly half. They were still good sized, but not as giant as the previous night's cookies. After eating up his cookie, Big Dog snuggled next to me on the couch. With his head on my shoulder, he looked up and patted my cheek loving as he said in his honeyed voice, "Mama, those cookies were just the right size. Please make all cookies that size forever." And I said I would. These are the lessons I learn from my kid. It's the little things that count in parenting, like cookie size.