My husband and I met after school and camp with the children at the passport office of the post office on Wednesday. We had been meaning to get this task done for months, but it continued to get postponed, so I was glad we were finally making it happen.
When we arrived there was almost no one in the waiting area aside from one man, his wife and eight-month baby. My son bounced around, looking for zombies down the long hallway through the closed glass door. The father of the other family went up to get the paperwork done as my daughter and husband arrived.
About that time they needed to get a photograph of the baby. But there could be no parent in the picture. This involved the father having her on his shoulders and the mother trying to get the baby to look in her direction, just over the camera.
My daughter heard all of this, including our claps at the end, saying what a team effort that had been. And my daughter wanted to know all about the baby. The mother and father, realizing she couldn’t see because of how we’d been answering her questions, brought their daughter over to her and told her to touch her. They talked all about the baby and let my daughter feel her feet, her hair and let the baby grab her hair in return.
The mother picked my daughter up and put her on her lap, and then put the baby on my daughter’s lap. I don’t think I’ve seen my daughter so engaged and happy in a long time. She said the baby liked her she thought because she was playing with her hair and touching her face.
We had to go up to sign our papers and get our pictures taken, but my daughter had only eyes for the baby and the mother and father who weren’t afraid to let some unknown child touch theirs so she could experience her.
Everyone working there was smiling because it was just so sweet. Another man arrived after we did and he kept grinning because it was such a fun exchange. I think he thought we were all together, we’d become such good friends so quickly.
My daughter didn’t want to leave, didn’t want them to go, was trying to coordinate play dates and asking them if they went to certain places and maybe we could meet there so she could play with their baby. I gave them my card and thanked them. It was more special to my daughter than I think they realized. They were special to me too.
The Big Boy Update: My son can not keep a bottle of sun screen with him at camp. He’s lost two bottles in two days. I had to run to the store this morning before came to get him some more last minute when we realized we were out.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: I can’t remember the last time my daughter climbed the door frames in the house. She has no interest. What she does want to do is bring the purple ball with her no matter where she is. This is a large yoga ball. She carries it up and down stairs, wants to brush her hair on it and even her teeth. We’ve had to draw the line at eating though.
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