the winner takes it all
We had a great summer. I mean it. GREAT. It helped that Ryan was off on parental leave for 10 weeks. Yeah, that helped a lot. It also helped that life with these three girls of ours is just so sweet. I am continually amazed at how different each of them are, as well as how much they change with each new season.
It was the last night of our camping trip. We had spent four days with cousins, uncles and aunts and were all ready to head home the next day. A camping family reunion really is fun! We had sites all near each other and there was a big open area with a playground within sight of all of our little temporary homes. The cousins played all day long and at 7pm each night came a most exciting event: the wagon ride! Normally, riding behind a tractor on a wagon would be thrill enough, but the teenaged girls who ran the show upped the thrill by handing out tickets at the beginning of the ride. When the ride was over, all the kids gathered around the teens to hear who's tickets won a prize. There were usually about 5 lollipops to be given out, and on the first night, Plava was one of them! She was so excited, and nervous to collect the prize alone, so I went up with her and she beamed as they handed it to her. She licked and licked until she had had enough sugar (about halfway through) and then handed it over to eager, wide-eyed Pito. Pito, who was 3, was rather disappointed that she didn't win a prize, but was quite excited to cash in on the remainder of her big sister's prize. I mean, who wouldn't be thrilled to finish off a slobbery sucker?
Each night it was the same: the wagon ride, the tickets, the prizes. And every night after that first one, the girls came back empty handed. Each time it happened, Pito became more and more distraught. Too young to understand her chances (about 40 to 1) and too innocent to not feel totally let down when her number wasn't called. On the second last night she simply cried as she walked back from the ride.
On the last night, the last chance for any of the kids to win a lollipop, the girls called out five numbers. Again, Pito's ticket wasn't called. But then, wait. There was a "GRAND PRIZE". They pulled a last ticket out of the box and called it out. It was Pito's!! "That's yours, Pito!!" I whispered as her eyes grew big and her mouth dropped open. She walked bravely, with that same face, up to the front and presented her ticket. Into her little hand they placed a different prize - a large, candy-filled noise-maker. She turned around and looked at me, with half a smile on that wide open mouth, and held it up.
We walked slowly back to the campsite and she kept those eyes as wide as can be. She kept muttering, "I won...!" to herself, and anyone she passed, holding the prize up so they could see. "I won...!"
These moments, as hilarious and small as they are, make me laugh every time I think of them. That innocent amazement that she actually got her ticket called, that she was the one out of all those kids that won the GRAND PRIZE. I can hardly believe how my love for these girls grows. Pito, you are a gem. You're full of mischief, and drive me crazy all the time, but you're so loved. Plava, you are getting so smart and tall, and I can hardly believe how your sense of humour is developing and as well as your strong will. Pony, I am really loving watching you get bigger, and as you reach this great age of 6 months, you are coming out of your fog and starting to show your sweet personality little by little. I love you too!
AMEN!
It was the last night of our camping trip. We had spent four days with cousins, uncles and aunts and were all ready to head home the next day. A camping family reunion really is fun! We had sites all near each other and there was a big open area with a playground within sight of all of our little temporary homes. The cousins played all day long and at 7pm each night came a most exciting event: the wagon ride! Normally, riding behind a tractor on a wagon would be thrill enough, but the teenaged girls who ran the show upped the thrill by handing out tickets at the beginning of the ride. When the ride was over, all the kids gathered around the teens to hear who's tickets won a prize. There were usually about 5 lollipops to be given out, and on the first night, Plava was one of them! She was so excited, and nervous to collect the prize alone, so I went up with her and she beamed as they handed it to her. She licked and licked until she had had enough sugar (about halfway through) and then handed it over to eager, wide-eyed Pito. Pito, who was 3, was rather disappointed that she didn't win a prize, but was quite excited to cash in on the remainder of her big sister's prize. I mean, who wouldn't be thrilled to finish off a slobbery sucker?
Each night it was the same: the wagon ride, the tickets, the prizes. And every night after that first one, the girls came back empty handed. Each time it happened, Pito became more and more distraught. Too young to understand her chances (about 40 to 1) and too innocent to not feel totally let down when her number wasn't called. On the second last night she simply cried as she walked back from the ride.
On the last night, the last chance for any of the kids to win a lollipop, the girls called out five numbers. Again, Pito's ticket wasn't called. But then, wait. There was a "GRAND PRIZE". They pulled a last ticket out of the box and called it out. It was Pito's!! "That's yours, Pito!!" I whispered as her eyes grew big and her mouth dropped open. She walked bravely, with that same face, up to the front and presented her ticket. Into her little hand they placed a different prize - a large, candy-filled noise-maker. She turned around and looked at me, with half a smile on that wide open mouth, and held it up.
We walked slowly back to the campsite and she kept those eyes as wide as can be. She kept muttering, "I won...!" to herself, and anyone she passed, holding the prize up so they could see. "I won...!"
These moments, as hilarious and small as they are, make me laugh every time I think of them. That innocent amazement that she actually got her ticket called, that she was the one out of all those kids that won the GRAND PRIZE. I can hardly believe how my love for these girls grows. Pito, you are a gem. You're full of mischief, and drive me crazy all the time, but you're so loved. Plava, you are getting so smart and tall, and I can hardly believe how your sense of humour is developing and as well as your strong will. Pony, I am really loving watching you get bigger, and as you reach this great age of 6 months, you are coming out of your fog and starting to show your sweet personality little by little. I love you too!
AMEN!
posted by LK at 8:11 PM
1 Comments:
Now I am getting the Pito's and Plava's mixed up. What a nice story! I love it!
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