Today during naptime Natasha was standing at the gate in her doorway, leaning on it despondently.

“My heart is broken,” she said in her ‘sad’ voice. This was one of the many moments I’ve felt my natural response (laughter) in conflict with my parenting instinct. “My heart is broken,” she said again. I couldn’t decide if she wanted to be sure I had heard her, or if she was just trying out the feel of the words.

“Why is your heart broken?” I asked, managing to keep a straight face.

“Melody needs to say “Sorry.”

“Why?”

“She’s asleep. She needs to say sorry when she wakes up.”

“Why does she need to say sorry?”

“She fell asleep. My heart is broken.”

I’m sure this came from a movie she’s seen, but I can’t think which one. Her other saying from the movies is the oft-repeated (in the movies, not real-life), “It’s all my fault.”

Why is this such a common line in movies? For one thing, in most stories it isn’t true, and for another thing, no one ever says this in real life.

When my family first started renting and watching movies I was 6 or more, and I noticed this theme of self-blame. I remember thinking, “They’re nuts! No one is going to say something’s their own fault!”

I’m certain if Natasha knew what she was saying the phrase would disappear pretty quickly.