Sunday February 8th, 2009
My Naomi turned three yesterday.
And when she woke up on Saturday, her crazy bedhead taking over her face, I wished her a happy birthday and asked her how old she was.
“Two-anna-haff.”
“No baby, you’re three today!!”
“TWO-ANNA-HAFF!!” (this time angry).
“Alright, sweetie, you can be two still if you want.”
I’m not sure if she will embrace her three-ness today or not. I haven’t checked. But by the time I was putting her to bed last night, she was exhausted.
2 cupcakes + 3 bowls of tortilla chips + too much gift wrap x 1 giant purple castle bounce house = a half an hour tantrum at 7:45 in the evening.
She didn’t want to brush her teeth. She didn’t want her father, she didn’t want me either. She yawned while she screamed to stay up later. She peeled her pajamas off and wouldn’t be redressed. Finally, she asked me to hold her like a baby and then she curled up in the middle of her big girl bed.
She wouldn’t slip under the quilt like a little girl, but wanted to sleep on top like an infant, with her one special blanket over her. Frustrated and trying to stretch it, she couldn’t seem to make it fit over her three-year-old limbs. She finally gave in and closed her eyes, with her feet sticking out of the bottom and her elbows protruding from the sides.
It was as it she wasn’t ready to be three yet.
I know this is only one episode in the constant battle of maturity and childishness in little hearts and bodies. Sometimes I’m not ready to give up my baby blanket either, trying to stretch what fit last year over a more grown up heart and mind. Sometimes I don’t want to be the one in charge. Sometimes I don’t want to be the one who locks the doors and checks the windows at night. Growing up brings so much more responsibilities.
But you can’t stop time, especially with little girls (or with Mamas). And when she’s ready, I’m sure she’ll announce with courage that she is now three-years-old.
Written at 8:52 am · (5) Comments ·
Thursday October 11th, 2007
My sister turns thirty today. October 11, 1977. Happy birthday, Charity.
She and I were put in the same little family for good reasons. She has taught me to laugh more than I’m prone to. She’s provoked me to ask good questions and think about hard ideas. She has helped me understand that people are the most important things in this big (and sometimes small) life.
She is auntie to my babies and
mommy to her dog. Charity teaches children every day who need special attention and have more needs than other students. She has
compassion for them. And funny stories too.
Just ask her. She is witty and interesting and a person is lucky to have a conversation with her. She is an artist and dreamer and could probably give lessons to the rest of us in those areas. She makes most people laugh or smile. Those she loves, she loves with fervor and earnestness and holds many things dear. She is simply beautiful!
I love you, dear sister. Happy thirty!
Written at 3:34 pm · (7) Comments ·
Saturday September 29th, 2007
Happy birthday to my very best friend.
Happy birthday to the man who gets up at 4:50 every morning when our obese CAT cries and whines to be let over the child gate (she’s too big to get through the bars and too large to heave herself over). He stumbles back to bed for another hour.
Happy birthday to the man who gently puts our daughters to bed every night, with sweetness and a soft touch; who reads the classics to Hope faithfully and is as excited as her to find out what happens to Buck in The Call of the Wild.
Happy birthday to the man who has loved me and cared for me and protected me; to the man who has given up his own pride for the sake of his wife. Happy birthday to the man who found the gem inside me, deep inside a hardened heart, and who loved me even so.
Happy birthday to my friend who works hard each day and always carries his own weight and ours on his shoulders; to the man who has gotten up countless times in the dark of night and changed a baby’s diaper, who has held that baby and sang to her.
Happy birthday to the boy who shares the same heart and memories as I do for the past 15 years. I love you!
Written at 7:26 am · (6) Comments ·
