myLOVE: there once was a little girl
Once upon a time, in my younger days, there was a little girl I fell head over heels for. The sweetest little thing, she was. And then, a few years later, arrived her little sister, who I was leery of, because I thought, if I love this little girl SOOOOO much, how could I possibly find room in my heart for another little girl?
I needn't have worried.
I remember the moment I discovered how much I loved teaching. It was one of those lazy Saturday afternoons, when Katrina, Larissa & I would melt half a block of cheddar in the microwave to dip our Melba Toast in. Katrina, after helping us polish off the Melba & cheddar, had gone out to play with her school friends, and poor little Larissa was stuck inside, bored out of her tree. Darkwing Duck was over, and Mike Sobel (who hosted cartoons after 4 o'clock rock went under because of MTV..) had said goodbye for the day. With nary a cartoon to amuse us, we wandered into the kitchen and played with the fridge magnet alphabet. "What's this, Hopey?"
In the course of one afternoon, Larissa mastered her numbers. When her Mom came home, there we were, sitting pleased as punch with ourselves, waiting to show her what we had discovered about the fridge magnets. 1 was easy. 2 looks like a coat hanger. 3 is bumpy. 4 was how old she was. 5 was just weird. 6 sits down. 7 was not the 1. 8 was an almost finished snowman. 9 stands up. ZerOOOOOO looks like your mouth when you say it. 6 sits down and 9 stands up was especially important, because her birthday is today: June 9.
Many years later, I found Katrina & Larissa on the love/hate site Facebook. And ended up shooting Larissa's wedding. It's funny how these things come full-circle - here was the little girl I was so afraid to love because I thought I'd have to cut my heart in half, when in fact, it just grew two sizes. Happy Birthday, My sweet Reesy.
love,
your Hopey.
I needn't have worried.
I remember the moment I discovered how much I loved teaching. It was one of those lazy Saturday afternoons, when Katrina, Larissa & I would melt half a block of cheddar in the microwave to dip our Melba Toast in. Katrina, after helping us polish off the Melba & cheddar, had gone out to play with her school friends, and poor little Larissa was stuck inside, bored out of her tree. Darkwing Duck was over, and Mike Sobel (who hosted cartoons after 4 o'clock rock went under because of MTV..) had said goodbye for the day. With nary a cartoon to amuse us, we wandered into the kitchen and played with the fridge magnet alphabet. "What's this, Hopey?"In the course of one afternoon, Larissa mastered her numbers. When her Mom came home, there we were, sitting pleased as punch with ourselves, waiting to show her what we had discovered about the fridge magnets. 1 was easy. 2 looks like a coat hanger. 3 is bumpy. 4 was how old she was. 5 was just weird. 6 sits down. 7 was not the 1. 8 was an almost finished snowman. 9 stands up. ZerOOOOOO looks like your mouth when you say it. 6 sits down and 9 stands up was especially important, because her birthday is today: June 9.
Many years later, I found Katrina & Larissa on the love/hate site Facebook. And ended up shooting Larissa's wedding. It's funny how these things come full-circle - here was the little girl I was so afraid to love because I thought I'd have to cut my heart in half, when in fact, it just grew two sizes. Happy Birthday, My sweet Reesy.
love,
your Hopey.
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