The Girl Who Learned To Kneel

remember when elsie used to soak her bibs?

yeah, when you would wash all eleven every day?

yep. those were the days.

remember when elsie would carry around a pink ikea spoon?

or the day you brought her up from the church nursery and she was clutching that red plastic ball?

and the sunday after it was the enormous teddy.

3 times her size.

or how she could never let us eat a piece of fruit in peace? she had to have the fruit too. especially if it was blueberries. or raspberries. or anything that would stain her grandma’s white couch.

or remember when she said ‘mama,’ except we weren’t sure if she knew WHO her mama was?
or when she started saying bear. except that everything was a bear.

or remember how when you went to pick her up from her crib after a nap, she would be all ‘wait a second, parent,’ i need to get organized? then she would proceed to look around and collect all the items she wanted to clutch on her way out of the crib. bringing her security with her.

or how she loved chickpeas? and then suddenly she didn’t love them. and then the same thing happened with tomatoes.

she still loves toast.

everybody loves toast.

true.

or remember when she would wave to us from her crib after putting her down for the night?

or when that all stopped and the crib became her nemesis?

yeah, i remember.

or when she started giving hugs?

or when i would purse my lips and make her howl?

or when she started clacking her teeth.

because she suddenly had teeth to clack.

or when i bought her a pair of fancy pink shoes and she started walking like a champion at a very advanced age?

i love her.
i love her too.

remember how we called her pooka?

we still do.

that’s true. we still do.