San Francisco 49ers v Carolina Panthers

Leah and Boys and Crazy Love

Leah has barely gotten going in Kindergarten and she only turned 5 a couple of days ago. My baby girl is just getting started in life, but she’s already found love.

Her first day of school she came home and told me all about a boy in her class who didn’t speak English and had plugs in his ears. I inquired if the “plugs” were skin colored (hearing aids?) and that seemed to be the case.

As the days went on I heard more and more stories about this little boy, who Leah referred to as “That ENGLISH Guy,” because she couldn’t remember his name (it’s Yaziel) or the name of the language he spoke (it’s Spanish).

Leah told me she frequently bounded over to Yaziel, threw her hands up in the air and exclaimed, “I LIKE you!” Another day, she informed me that Yaziel always had a little smile on his face because, “he is happy being by me and I am happy being by him.”

When the Kindergarten class went on a field trip to the nature center, they visited the “hugging sycamore,” where you have to hug someone. I asked who she had hugged and she replied, “One of the girls. I can’t remember her name. And Yaziel!”

Yesterday on the way home from school, Leah told me about a game they played where she got to be partners with Yaziel. She babbled on:

“I love Yaziel! The first day I saw him, I loved him! I loved his name and I loved who he was. He’s so handsome. I wish I was a Spanish person. I wish I spoke his language. I know some words he says, like ‘Hola’ and ‘Ocho.'”

And I know I should be freaked out or something, because she’s only 5 and she’s already crushing on boys. But I can’t.

Because I’m so undone by her big heart of love that sees people for who they are. Leah doesn’t look at language barriers or physical difficulties or differences of any kind. She sees a person and simply loves. She loves lavishly and freely.

I wish I could be more like her.

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San Francisco 49ers v Carolina Panthers

I Volunteer!

Now that both of my kids are in school, it’s a little weird. Don’t get me wrong, I actually LOVE it. And I have plenty to do. But now there are options open to me, that weren’t open before.

For example, I can go out to breakfast with friends. And go grocery shopping, with no one begging for candy and Jello. I can meet my husband for lunch.

And. I can volunteer at the school. Until this year, I’ve had Leah-Belle home with me, so I was pretty tied down. Now, I’m free as a bird and could sign up for every committee and program available to parents of students.

Which actually kind of freaks me out, because it’s so soccer-mom. *shudder*

The other side of me is a bit excited, because I’ve never volunteered for anything outside of the church setting. It might be fun and I might get to know more people and, you know, good stuff.

When Open House rolled around this week, I mentioned to Isaiah’s teacher, “I’m a stay-at-home mom… with no kids at home. So I’m able to help when you need me.”

Her eyes lit up like I’d just handed her a lifetime supply of chocolate. And why not? I’ve got fairly good hygiene and a drivers license and I offered all on my own. What more could she want?!

She immediately signed me up for a school field-trip to the zoo at the end of the month. She said something about how I could have half the class and she’d have the other half. …And I just thought I was going to end up helping with craft day or something.

But I’m kind of looking forward to it. Helping with events that I don’t have to plan always works well for me. Isaiah still thinks it’s cool to have his mom around, so he’ll be happy. And I have a great mom-voice if anyone gets out of line. Really, how much trouble can 10 or 11 Second Graders actually get into at the zoo?

Maybe I shouldn’t ask.

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