November 13, 2012
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"That was a hard adventure today..."
When I picked up the almost 3 year old at her dad's work this am, she was covered in green dots- because she was a green spotted cat. Most days, it'd be something I could enjoy all day, but we had an appointment for Christmas pictures this morning. After a bath and carefully putting two bows in her hair and twirling the ends around my fingers, she approved the dress and picked out red shoes with flowers over shiny black ones. It was a close call. The dress had layers with a white sweater over the short sleeves and was black, white, and red. More sophisticated than the usual holiday outfit, but it was soft and not scratchy and perfect for her with the little ladybug buttons on the bows on the waist. She picked up her stretchy almost life-like lizard named Message to accompany her in the pictures and we were ready. The photographer told me the shoot would take 15 minutes, then we'd have 15 minutes to walk the store while she prepared our pictures. 45 minutes top... which is about right for a not quite 3 year old who is all dressed up and ready for a dance party.
But this thing happened... this thing that happens whenever someone new meets her. The photographer couldn't quit posing and taking shot after shot of the child who worked hard at following all the posing directions even when she didn't understand them. Over an hour later, she regretfully quit, feeling like the next picture would be the perfect one, the one that captured that illusiveness of her spirit, that thing you see right before you press the shutter. The girl was starving so we went for sandwiches. A little boy couldn't take his eyes off her. "What's he saying," she asked. "Is he saying I'm pretty?"
"Sure," I said without hesitation, because she is looking beautiful even with orange Cheetos cheese on her cheeks. She can wear anything and look priceless.
After a long nap, she woke up saying, "That was a hard adventure today, NiNi." She told the same thing to YeYe when he asked her about her day. When he questioned her, she tried to explain how hard it was to sit still, smile, and not move after the photographer put you in a position. Her favorite pictures are the ones the photographer took when she was dancing. For her, the whole experience was work- fun, but work. She is willing to do it again and the pictures came out beautiful, natural and sweet, just like her. When we looked at them on the big TV set, she wasn't interested in seeing them, more content to play with her animals and pretend they were eating ants. "All done pictures," she finally said as the slideshow went around again.
It's interesting to see life through her eyes. This wasn't a simple adventure that ended up with Christmas presents for people she loved, but a gift that took a lot of hard work. They won't understand that when they get the pictures in the mail. They'll see a very cute child and think "Aww". I am truly privileged to have shared the adventure from the beginning bath to the final product.
Comments (5)
I agree:
Too charming for me to want to go to work, rather than reread this over and over.
I love your perspective on little Miss C. I can't wait to meet my niece and feel a fraction of this wonder. I don't think grandbabies are in the cards for me, but I'm gonna enjoy all the surrogate experiences
@BoureeMusique - I'm sure you're going to be a wonderful aunt to both new little ones! Children don't have to be your own or even your own grandchildren to be special. I used to tell my kid all the time not to have children if he didn't want them because there were plenty of children in the world for me to love and I still believe that! In fact, many kids need someone to believe in them- even if they aren't related and that is a gift that will never be forgotten!