Tape

Crash.

The sound of something shattering pierced the air. I panicked, sprinting towards the source of it, arriving in the brightly colored parlor to find my two-year-old son crouching over the shards of a vase filled with flowers. He was holding strips of adhesive plastic, also known as tape. In an instant, I went from worried to furious.

"What did you do?" I screeched.

"I fell," he answered, hanging his head in shame.

"What is the tape for?"

He looked up at me, eyes wide and swimming with tears.

"I didn't want mommy to be sad."