Free Fridays: The great bracelet debate.

1 May 2026

May 01, 2026

You know what a good birthday present for the kids is?

Those beads bracelet set thingies.

Because the kids can get engrossed for a long time making bracelets and that gives Mom a lot of quiet time. AHHHHH BLISS. Thank you, their-friend’s mom who bought that for their birthday.

When they’re done, I simply tell them oh, make one more for Aunty So and So.

“Huh? We’re not that close, we’ve only met her once,” they say, confused.

“No, no, we’re very close. Go, go make it,” I would reply.

We’ve run out of aunts.

But then they’ll get bored after an hour or so, and then say the words I dread.

“Mom, come make it with us,” normally it’s that Sarah girl, very clingy that one.

Pretend don’t hear, pretend don’t hear…

Face appears in front of me, I can smell her cookie breath. “Mooooommmm, you didn’t hear me.”

Actually, I did.

So, here I am, taking out bead by bead because Sarah insists on a certain colour pattern that we must repeat meticulously, with no mistake. The pink comes before the blue. If you accidentally put the blue first, you have to take everything out and re-do it.

“Mom, I’m making one for Kawthar. Should I put smiley face or heart?”

“Smiley face,” I say.

“Why?”

“Uhhh.. cos uhhh, it’s cute.”

“But heart is also cute.”

“True, but smiley face has more cheerfulness so when people see the smiley face, they might also smile and it’ll make their day.”

“But heart will make people feel loved, and they will feel happy knowing someone hearts them. And then they’ll smile. So it’s the same.”

Oh this is turning serious. I wasn’t prepared for this.

We debated some more about the pros and cons of a smiley face vs a heart. Like it was an important 60-minute debate on TV. I got tired of using my brains after a while so I gave up.

“You’re right,” I say.

“So heart or smiley face?” she asks.

“Smiley face,” I stay, consistent with my choice.

“But why?”

Ya Rabb.

“Ishhh, I already told you why. Also, Kawthar is always smiling, so it suits her very well.”

Sarah pauses to think about this big life decision.

In the end she says, “I think I’ll go with the heart.”