Story Time

"Once upon a time"
Are the words that recently
Will turn a mood happy,
Into fast calamity.
It's the nature of the game...
A crazy dance you do
When a child with needs unique,
You're now a parent to.
She likes it when I read to her,
With regularity,
You can almost set your clock to when
She feels it's time to read.
She fetches me for story time;
I happily comply.
And often she won't care
If she's heard it many times.
She's happy with the company
And treats the moment kind,
Regardless of the story told.
But there are other times....
Alas, it seems to matter super-
Disconcertingly,
And certain words can set her off,
Or so it seems to me.
The phrase that get's her lately,
At the dropping of a dime,
Is that once-too-much-heard opening,
"Once upon a time".
Even though it's at the start,
It's already to late.
And nothing can console her
Until the mood self-abates.
But I won't collect and serve
These stories to the trash.
"And why not?",  a well-meaning
Onlooker might ask.
Because it's seldom permanent...
These sways of up and down -
The happiness that suddenly
Can turn into a frown -
Or usher in the start of
Another melting-down.
What set her off yesterday,
Might yet unrepeat.
And the day always uncertain
when her wrath again you'll meet.
But on this point, I'll bet it all,
As sure as there's a sky,
The only certain thing about the future
Is surprise.