The Painted Ponies Go Up and Down

I had lunch with my faboo friend Mandi today. Mandi is about five months pregnant and brought fantastic 3-D pictures of the baby. One looked like the baby was holding a teddy bear and it was amazing. Our conversation turned to "big sisters" as both of our oldest children are daughters.

When my youngest was born, the oldest was in preschool. I had been on the board of directors at her preschool and had a great relationship with her teacher, the director, etc. So I said I'd bring the baby in to introduce to the class. My then-five-year-old thought it was Show-and-Tell. She stood in the front of her room and said matter-of-factly, "This is my baby sister. Her name is Melissa. She cries a lot. Would anyone like to pet her?"

Every hand in that room save mine and the teacher's shot straight up. It was one of the funniest moments I can remember as a Mom. I told the students they could come up and gently touch her, but asked them to please not "pet" her.

I just wanted to share a story of children in the early spring of their youth since we have two funerals this week. My husband and mother-in-law are on their way home from his aunt's funeral and my colleague's husband lost his battle with cancer yesterday. I suppose their deaths must be a relief to their families, yet I'm sure they're devastated and will miss them terribly. Such is the carousel of life.