On the flip side: Epic Win
So my most beloved friend Vince back home has this adorable 3 year old daughter, Maya. I have met Maya all of once, when I was home in 2006 for Christmas and she was up late for her daddy's yearly NYE ( and birthday) party. She wasn't even 2 yet and she was super tired, so I didn't make much of an impression, as you might imagine! But for some reason, I am just so crazy about that little girl. Maybe it's because, for one, I had this weird and amazingly beautiful dream that Vince's wife was pregnant before they'd even announced it (and I went and asked him, "Is this true?" He was all "Not that I know of!"LOL!). Maybe it's because seeing Vince be a dad is just so positively cool and makes me wanna cry when he talks about how much he loves his little girl. Or maybe it's just because in all her pictures and videos she's so funny and smart and beautiful one can't help but love her.
Anyway, usually I manage to get it together and send something for her birthday, but last year I blew it and was so farking late that I had to put it in with this year's Christmas package/Vince's birthday gift. And of course, I was late with the Christmas gifts this year, so Vince and his family didn't get it all til this week. But I heard from Vince today, and...
...it seems Miss Maya is in LOVE with her gift. I got her this book:
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Hug-Time/Patrick-McDonnell/e/9780316114943/?itm=1
which is this really great book by "Mutts" creator Patrick McDonnell that had me bawling when *I* read it, because it's so sweet. The main character is this little cat named Jules who wants to give the world a hug, so he goes out and travels the world and gives all these different people and animals a hug. It's funny, and smart and a little environmentalist, and of course, illustrated in a very cute way, but not saccharine or watered down like a lot of kids books. ( When he comes home and the book ends with ," The world is so big / And yet so small / It's time that we embrace it all." Since Vince and his wife are trying to raise Maya in a Secular Humanist tradition, so I thought this was extra-perfect.) I got a little orange cat to go with it, and Jeannie helped me knit this little green sweater for him just like in the book.
Vince told me today that she's carrying Jules everywhere ( whom she thinks is a girl) and has begged him to read her that book like 10 times. Vince and his wife explained that she got these gifts from her friend Jessica who lives in California, and so she got out her US States puzzle and looked at California (*pang! snif!*). He also informed me that she has introduced Jules to all her other stuffed animal friends.
Man, that just slayed me. I was like, "::OOF::" straight through the heart. I thought maybe she'd like it, and I hoped she'd someday know who I was a wee bit, maybe even later when she saw the book and was more grown up. But it just kills me that she's only 3 and really loves it ( another SCORE!, since to me, it's always a little tough trying to buy something decent for kids, especially ones you don't get to spend a lot of time with), and is putting together, maybe a little that I'm here now. It means so much to me, since I've missed so much of her life already.
So, I guess the thing of it is, if you can make a little kid happy for a day, it really is an Epic Win. Because really, you can't help but be happy too.
:)
So my most beloved friend Vince back home has this adorable 3 year old daughter, Maya. I have met Maya all of once, when I was home in 2006 for Christmas and she was up late for her daddy's yearly NYE ( and birthday) party. She wasn't even 2 yet and she was super tired, so I didn't make much of an impression, as you might imagine! But for some reason, I am just so crazy about that little girl. Maybe it's because, for one, I had this weird and amazingly beautiful dream that Vince's wife was pregnant before they'd even announced it (and I went and asked him, "Is this true?" He was all "Not that I know of!"LOL!). Maybe it's because seeing Vince be a dad is just so positively cool and makes me wanna cry when he talks about how much he loves his little girl. Or maybe it's just because in all her pictures and videos she's so funny and smart and beautiful one can't help but love her.
Anyway, usually I manage to get it together and send something for her birthday, but last year I blew it and was so farking late that I had to put it in with this year's Christmas package/Vince's birthday gift. And of course, I was late with the Christmas gifts this year, so Vince and his family didn't get it all til this week. But I heard from Vince today, and...
...it seems Miss Maya is in LOVE with her gift. I got her this book:
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Hug-Time/Patrick-McDonnell/e/9780316114943/?itm=1
which is this really great book by "Mutts" creator Patrick McDonnell that had me bawling when *I* read it, because it's so sweet. The main character is this little cat named Jules who wants to give the world a hug, so he goes out and travels the world and gives all these different people and animals a hug. It's funny, and smart and a little environmentalist, and of course, illustrated in a very cute way, but not saccharine or watered down like a lot of kids books. ( When he comes home and the book ends with ," The world is so big / And yet so small / It's time that we embrace it all." Since Vince and his wife are trying to raise Maya in a Secular Humanist tradition, so I thought this was extra-perfect.) I got a little orange cat to go with it, and Jeannie helped me knit this little green sweater for him just like in the book.
Vince told me today that she's carrying Jules everywhere ( whom she thinks is a girl) and has begged him to read her that book like 10 times. Vince and his wife explained that she got these gifts from her friend Jessica who lives in California, and so she got out her US States puzzle and looked at California (*pang! snif!*). He also informed me that she has introduced Jules to all her other stuffed animal friends.
Man, that just slayed me. I was like, "::OOF::" straight through the heart. I thought maybe she'd like it, and I hoped she'd someday know who I was a wee bit, maybe even later when she saw the book and was more grown up. But it just kills me that she's only 3 and really loves it ( another SCORE!, since to me, it's always a little tough trying to buy something decent for kids, especially ones you don't get to spend a lot of time with), and is putting together, maybe a little that I'm here now. It means so much to me, since I've missed so much of her life already.
So, I guess the thing of it is, if you can make a little kid happy for a day, it really is an Epic Win. Because really, you can't help but be happy too.
:)
posted by Jessica @ 12:40 AM
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