Neglect? Lazy supervision? It can only mean the worst.

Sometimes we all jump off the ledge without looking back. Sometimes, we all just assume the worst and can't imagine anything else could be the reason. Sometimes we assume that no call, means sudden death and flaming cars. Sometimes we see the smallest thing and assume it means our child is being tortured, neglected and abused.

Sometimes Kitty-Time exaggerates.

But not always.

And so, here is another time when Kitty-Time will shamelessly pull back the curtain and reveal the inner-workings of her brilliant and, never dramatic, mind.

Over the course of the past week or so, Kitty-Time has found books in her darling daughter's crib in the evenings. At first, she wondered - perhaps the nanny was cleaning the room and was just trying to entertain her darling daughter with a book while keeping her safely contained in the crib.

But it kept happening. And her room doesn't get cleaned every day.

And by the third day, it could only mean neglect. It could only mean that darling daughter was being forced to stay in the crib against her will, crying out for attention, in desperate need for one of her parents to return home and lavish her with love and affection.

Right?

Surely that is the only thing it could mean.

Kitty-Time began wondering - should we start spying on nanny? Has she grown lazy and uninterested in her job? Does she leave darling daughter up there for long periods of time? What is happening? What could be the cause of it.

Of course, add into the mix the amount of time that passes from the evening when Kitty-Time wonders this - to the chaos of the next morning as I'm darting out the door (late) for work, and rest assured that I pretty much always forget to ask.

But not this morning. Last night Kitty-Time found STAMPS in her darling daughter's crib. One had even been removed.

This could only mean the nanny was not only neglecting the child but leaving her there to choke on her own accord. Death was imminent.

Kitty-Time wondered, should she phone the nanny immediately, even though she's left for the day, and question her?
Kitty-Time's husband, always relaxed and laid back, assured me that everything was fine and I could just ask in the morning.

And so, I asked. This time, I remembered!

And much to my great relief and amusement, I learned something precious about my darling daughter.

We've known for quite some time that she loves books. And she loves pictures and colors. She spends more time with her books some days than with her toys. It's true, she's a woman on a mission. She cannot rest until every flap has been carefully removed from every book. But still, she is obsessed. What I adore is that she knows which direction to hold the book. How does she know the letters are upside down? She can't read. And yet, she knows.

And so, it turns out that darling daughter has somehow been moving the bumper pad out of the way, stretching her little gumby arms as far as they can go, and removing books from a basket next to the crib, and amusing herself by "reading" until she decides to let someone know she is, in fact, not sleeping, and would like to be removed from her crib.

Ahh....the dramatic mind of a mother...and the resourceful skills of a 14 month old.

Kitty-Time will admit, this was a fabulous way to start the day; To gain an insight into how darling daughter spends her alone time up in her room, when no one is watching. Of course, apparently she isn't sleeping as long as I thought, but still, at least she isn't being neglected.