In the morning when I drop off Natalie, we have this
little routine whereby she stands inside at the window and I stand
outside. Then we draw little pictures to
each other on the window with our fingers.
One morning it's a rainbow and gold, the next it is a heart and a flower
and then the third morning a smiley face and star. And we just rotate through those. I started it in Kindergarten as a way to get
me out the door but still be able to say goodbye. Then she watches and waves from the window
until I leave.
Well, yesterday she told
me she didn't want to do it. But she was in a grumpy mood at the time so I
figured that was the reason. Then this
morning, I asked her whether we were doing smiley face and stars or hearts and
flowers and she said, "I need to whisper something to you." So, I bent down and she said, "I don't
want my friends to make fun of me."
I told her we didn't have to do it if she wanted to stop, but she said,
"No, I want to, but I don't want my friends to make fun of me." I asked her what they said, and she said,
that they said, "I saw what you were doing with your Dad." Not too bad, but still for a 7 year old, you
don't want any type of attention like that!
So, I told her she could just tell them, "Yeah, it's kind of silly. But I just do it so that my dad doesn't feel
bad." Her face lit up and she said,
"Yeah, that's a good idea... Smiley Face and Stars."
It was a very sweet moment. Walking the line between two worlds. Still holding on to being a little kid, but
starting to feel the pull of growing up. I definitely took a moment to enjoy
our "picture at the window" a little bit more this morning as I now
know I may not have that many more left!
