She spent the whole time telling me things that she's been thinking about, her words so excited and coming so quickly that sometimes I had a hard time understanding the whole story. But I didn't say "what?", because that frustrates her and sometimes she gives up telling the story.
Instead, I just listened very intently. I could gather the gist of the story and have the correct responses that way. Sometimes I'm not very good at that. Sometimes I only halfway listen and miss something that is very important to my girl at that moment.
I'm working very hard to not just be here, but to always be present.
I turned around from the sink to respond to something she said, and I couldn't help but enjoy the combination of roller skates and chopping cucumbers with a sharp knife. She's a big girl and a little girl. She's growing and learning important things, but she's doing it with her roller skates on.
(****For those of you who may be concerned: No little girls were harmed in the making of this blog post. I, being the smart Mommy that I am, would never let a little girl on roller skates carry around a sharp knife. ****)
