Love OverPowers: C

Just a couple of things that I don't want to forget...and I thought I'd use this space to record them.

Caroline went on her first play date yesterday. As the youngest of three kids, she has been anticipating this milestone for a while now, and was understandably excited as the day approached. She and her adorable friend from school had (by Caroline's report) a wonderful time--they enjoyed frozen yogurt at a local spot downtown, then they had lots of fun playing at her "SO cool house," which was resplendent with her "own room!" and her "own dresser!" and her "own music box!" Clearly the observations of a little person who has only known a life of sharing rooms and dressers and a bed and closets and hand-me-downs, and I'm sure that for Caroline the list of injustices goes on...but I digress. The whole point of writing this down is to remember that when my husband went to pick Caroline up, her sweet playmate was apparently ~~pretty sad~~ devastated that their time together that day was coming to a close. More specifically, again per Caroline, she "threw herself down on the floor and cried 'but I don't want Caroline to leave!!'" The tears continued as Caroline and Daddy left the house and were on the driveway, and her friend watched and wept from the window. This morning as we walked home from dropping Madison and Joshua at school, I got the full report (I worked late last night and Caroline was already asleep when I returned home), including the fact that when this same little friend comes over to our house for a play date, Caroline is "going to cry when she leaves."

Such love!

The other incident that so warmed my heart was this afternoon when I went to the big kids' school to pick them up and I found one of Madison's friends asking her mom as I walked up, "so can I go to say goodbye to Madison now??" As her friend scooted over to talk to Madison, her mom shared with me that her daughter looked terribly upset ("like she had failed a test or something") when she arrived to pick her up. She then learned that her daughter was gravely disappointed over the fact that she and Madison "didn't get to sit next to each other" in the carpool line after school. So after a few minutes of chatting and catching up (did I mention that these two girls are in the same class, and thus are together all day), we all went our separate ways, her friend wearing the sweetest smile on her little face.

These two encounters were so ordinary and yet so precious. And not because they showcase how lovely my daughters can be--really. I, too, love my friends, but it's pretty rare that I cherish our time together so much that I weep when we must leave each other's presence. I don't often feel that a day is ruined because I've missed a potential encounter with a good friend. Because we'll always have another opportunity, right? There's always tomorrow for all that, right?...Right?

May I learn from these open-hearted, wildly-loving, generous gals the priceless value of good friends, and may my girls model that sort of radical love as they grow.

² He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. ³ And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵ And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me." Matthew 18:2-5

I know it seems like such a cliche', but I just can't believe that our sweet baby girl turns 5 tomorrow. The days, weeks, and months literally seem to be passing more quickly these days and we just try to savor each one. She continues to grow and change so much. She's still thoroughly enjoying her time in her Montessori school--learning life skills, some basic math and early reading, and plenty of important life lessons as she navigates the various personalities of her classmates. She is very open (when she's in the mood) about sharing challenges and joys from school. As her wonderful and insightful teacher has remarked, Caroline really "takes it all in" and is both very observant and loyal. She continues to push the envelope on her independence and sincerely believes that she should have all the rights that Joshua and Madison have (e.g., staying up later, riding in a booster seat, not napping). She is such a lover of books and can still easily keep herself occupied for close to an hour flipping page by page through a mountain of books. I am excited to see how the world opens up to her once she starts reading on her own. Before bed tonight she asked that I read one of our all-time favorites, "Owl Babies." This is the book that she first memorized and "read" back to us when she was less than two years old. So nostalgic for me...

Caroline told me tonight as I was tucking her in and remarking how big she is getting, "You're not ready." "For what?" I asked. "For me to turn five. I'm too BIG...to sit in your lap...for you to hold me. But even when I'm ten, I'll go with you, and I'll hold your hand, and I'll sit in your lap."

Just for posterity's sake, here is a picture of little C on her BIRTHday