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| Day 30 of 31 at TWT! |
After packing lunches, rain boots for creeking, and extra clothes, and seemingly half the house, we choose our masks on the way out. "Pink unicorn! Pink unicorn!" she shrieks, reaching out her little arm and opening her chubby fingers.
I think back to how excited she was to finally be big enough to wear a mask. All summer and fall, she'd been watching us put on our masks to see my parents or pick up her sister's school supplies. She was pretty good about wearing the little faceshield sunhat we'd gotten her, but she knew it wasn't the same. After a few times asking if she could have a mask, she learned the answer and started announcing, "Sis is big enough! Mommy's big enough! Daddy's big enough!" whenever we got them out. It was perfect. As her birthday approached, we started hyping, "You'll be big enough soon!"
We made sure the mask pack was the first present she opened on her birthday, right away in the morning. As soon she pulled the tiny unicorn and rainbow masks out of the pack, she grabbed the pink one and held it up to her face. I cheered, "You're big enough!" and helped her pull the loops over her ears. Clenching her little fists in excitement, she tilted her head up and squinted her eyes in her happiest smile.
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| The birthday girl, finally big enough! |
"MASK PARADE!" she announced gleefully, flail-dance-running in circles around the family room with Sweetie close behind.
She wore it to my parents' house. She wanted to show it to Sweetie's kindergarten friends during their school meeting. She played in it. She colored in it. She read in it. She played in it some more. Hours later, if she could've eaten her snack in it, she would have!
Now, she usually only wears a mask when needed, although we still have the occasional mask parade. But she always keeps them on so happily that people ask incredulously how old she is when they see her. (It's a fair question since she's still wearing 12-18 month clothes!)
"I'm two!" she declares proudly, often followed by an excited index finger jabbing at her face. "I have my MASK!"
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| creeking today with the same mask (her absolute favorite), since my parents were with us |
(When Laurie first started putting on a mask for a few minutes during her Facebook Lives last spring, talking about how we could all be superheroes by wearing a mask and washing our hands, Rainbow Girl burst into tears, but soon, she was much more curious than scared!)
Rainbow Girl is such a superhero! Her excitement is contagious - such a sweet post.
ReplyDeleteThis is the cutest story! It goes to show, too, how our own attitudes affect how our children perceive things.
ReplyDeleteThere are plenty of people who could take a cue from Rainbow Girl! Wearing a mask is a kindness to others we should be glad to do.
ReplyDeleteYour writing seems to luxuriate in her personality, putting her voice in the in-between spaces as much as in her dialogue. From the extra "and" in "and seemingly half the house" which tells so much to the "flail-dance-running in circles," you have made the page come alive in her energy.
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