Small things

The world is iced over after yet another snowstorm and I am struggling with a head cold. For the past month I have felt unmoored and scattered. Too much happening all at once, too much noise, too much responsibility. I called in sick to work today and if the phone had not kept interrupting me I would likely be asleep right now instead of marking this first day of February with a post (finally) in my happy chaotic and sparse blog.

Yesterday, Chiara was upset by the fact that she forgot her Neopet for “Share,” which is her class’s version of show and tell. I watched in the rearview mirror as her face crumpled and her eyes darted around in search of something else to share with the class. She cried, for just a moment, then began rustling around in her backpack. When I dropped her off at school she told me, with relief in her voice, that she had found something. She held it up for me to inspect, a big smile spreading across her face. She had decided to share an oversized bobby pin.

Moments like that remind me of why I signed up for this parenting gig in the first place.