Five Minute Friday: Tender

Yes, it is Friday once again. Seems like it rolls around a little bit earlier each and every week. Lisa-Jo's invitation still stands and now about 200 folks are signing in each week with their 5 minute, unscripted, unedited posts on the prompt of the day. Just writing, whether it's 'just right' or not. So, in a minute, I'll set the timer and see what comes. Try it - you'll like it!







 Prompt this week: TENDER

 The sweetest feet on the planet belong to this girl.
 Are these the cutest or what??

Go:

She was only about 18 months old,

already talking a blue streak

and often including some of her

newly learned vocabulary

in the 'project' of the moment.

That day, she was playing with two of her

favorite 'dolls' -

a very old, very dingy Cabbage Patch infant,

and a somewhat larger 

orange-haired Zoe doll

(you know, the character from Sesame Street)

which she inexplicably insisted was

really Abby

(another character from that life-and-sanity-saving bit of television history).

We'd taken her in the yard for a walk earlier

that day, in a stroller I found somewhere

for a good price,

and it was still sitting in the living room,

waiting to be scooted out of sight

after Lilly went home.

She immediately commandeered it,

placing her two friends neatly into the

seat, adjusting their clothes a little,

making sure each one was comfortable.

From that day on,

Baby and Zoe were in that stroller 

every Wednesday and many Fridays.

The day I am remembering happened 
the week following her initial discovery of this grand new addition to 

her child-care game.

Her daddy dropped her off, as usual,

and, after helping herself to Poppy's breakfast, 

checking out a few additional toys 

in the baskets we keep for her,

she found her way to the stroller,

not aware that I was watching.

Carefully and tenderly,

she bent over one side.

"You okay?" she asked Baby.

Waiting a beat, as if for an answer,

she walked around to the other side,

leaned in again and said,

"You okay?"

Apparently they were both doing fine.

But I was struck by how very early our children 
begin to mimic what we do, what we say.

How many times had her parents, her sister, 
her other grandparents, we ourselves - how many times had we leaned over her,

carefully and tenderly, and said,

"You okay, Lil? You doin' okay?"

It's lovely to see that sometimes,

sometimes,

parents and grandparents get it right!

STOP

I got interrupted by a phone call, so this one probably got about 2 extra minutes (and a few edits here and there, too).