She’s the middle child in her family. She’s not as demanding as her older brother or as loud and funny as her younger sister. She’s the one who says “That’s okay. She can have it,” or “Let him go first.” She usually remembers to say “thank-you.” But she cries when her feelings are hurt. Yesterday at the optometrist, she cried because she has to have glasses, while her brother, excitedly (and that’s an understated term) picked out his frames for glasses that he was not destined (after the exam) to need (or buy). She’s the one who comes over twice a week to do phonics and math with me. We have bonded over dyslexia, among many other things. She has a high IQ, centered in a brain that is a-typically figured. And all of that makes her wonderful. But the most wonderful thing about her is her determination to love God and go to heaven, She has a weekly date with Papa for breakfast and she orders the exact same thing every week. She takes piano lessons and loves every kind of card or board game, as well as the trampoline. She loves tiny little collections of toys and bracelets and charms and she loves very soft stuffed animals. She’s hoping for a canopy for her bed one day and room darkening curtains. She’s a mess. Here’s her Mother’s Day “Mammy list”. I will treasure it. (I also love how she put in tiny little letters at the end “Oh, and Papa is good, too.” That’s how she lives her life…ever thoughtful and inclusive.)
