Thursday, August 28, 2014

I Fell in Love Today

I haven't written a blog in quite sometime; been testing the waters of other genres a bit, but I'm returning here this morning, not by choice, but by an excruciating and forceful pull that has made it impossible not to share the details with y'all...

I fell in love today.  Deeply in love.

The story is a simple one that began several months ago. 
I didn't care for her at first.
The feeling was mutual for her. She was set in her ways and I in mine.
I'd arrive, once a week, at 8:00 a.m.  She'd see me and instantly, like some sort of flammable combustion, burst into tears. The tears would lead to notable sobbing, which would later, as the 9 hours dragged on, become high-pitched screams. 
True, there were small windows of silence. During those times, I'd throw myself on the couch and down bourbon shots and hope the duct tape would stay on a few more minutes.

She disliked me and I think it's fair to say, I didn't particularly see any positive traits.
Her sissy, you might recall, would say, "Don't worry, Valerie. She just has to get used to you.
(I can't really argue with that. I've heard that from friends, lovers, family members before;
that I take some getting used to.)

Then something happened.  Something unexpected and quite magical if you believe in that kind of stuff...
I took a long vacation. She came to her senses.
And today, we fell in love. Big time.

Love's a phenomenal thing.  It's thick like cake batter. It strengthens and connects like Gorilla Glue. It's flexible like Silly Putty. It surprises you.
It tugs at your heartstrings and even when you want to shrug it off, your attempts are futile because once true love takes hold of you, it never ever lets go.

I know this because it happened to me today. And to her too.
Her name is 'Lil Sis, but I call her Ginger.  We spent 3 hours alone today, because if you can believe how rapidly time flies by, The Cousin is now in pre-school!

Here's what I want to tell about her. Here's what I love about Ginger:

She's domestic.



She likes owls.


She has a mischievous streak.







She's a hippie, nature-lovin mama.




She likes to break a few rules now and then.




Perhaps the sweetest thing about this "burst of spunk" is her babbling. Her language is a blender filled with a mish mash of sounds, syllables, garble and breaths that say more to me than any adult of late.  She "talks" non-stop and laughs at her own conclusions. Everything is something and something is everywhere! She's always up for a discussion. 

We took a spin in the stroller yesterday. The sun was out. The birds too. As I pushed her across the street, a woman rolled down her car window and pointed at the stroller. I couldn't quite understand what she was telling me, so when I reached the sidewalk, I stopped and looked in on Ginger. She was babbling away, carefree and pleased with herself; tugging and tickling both of her feet, laughing at the sky.  
I looked back at the woman in the car, "Life is good." I said.
"Yes, it is." she replied with a smile.


Take care, good people. It's nice to be with y'all here again.
This blog is brought to you, in part, by the folks (and the children) who remind us, on a daily basis, that life is blessed and good.

~tpg