Lillie Lately v.2

---

While walking into church, Lillie runs up to her grandparents.
Lillie: My daddy chokes me!
Granny: What honey?
Lillie: DADDY CHOKES ME.
Me: OMG, no, wait, it’s not. I swear it’s a game they play! Lillie & Alfred do this thing where she runs and hugs him as hard as she can around the neck. He does the same and they pretend they’re choking.

Hangs head in parental cone of shame.

---

Standing in the kitchen, I’m getting dinner started and Lillie (who was playing by herself in her room) comes walking around the corner looking incredibly determined.

Me: What’s up Lil?
Lillie: I want a black mommy.
Me: Uhhh..okay? 

Lillie shrugs her shoulders a bit and starts to walk away. Wondering where this is coming from (since it was completely out of the blue), I try to prod some information from her.

Me: Does one of your friends from school have a black mommy?
Lillie: No.
Me: Is there a black mommy on TV that you’ve watched lately?
Lillie: No.

At this point, I decide to myself this could be a really great teaching opportunity so I say, “You know, there are kids out there with black moms and they’re not any different from us. They go to school, play, eat yogurt, and they love their kids a lot too. It doesn’t matter if you’re a different color, it’s about how nice or mean you are. See? Mama’s arms are darker than yours but it doesn’t matter.”

I’m feeling pretty proud of my little speech, like she understood what I was trying to say, but then as she’s leaving the room she turns to me and says, “I will take a black OR a brown mommy.”

Me: <insert sigh> You can have whatever mommy you want when you grow up, but for now I’m sorry, honey, you’re stuck with me.

Lillie sighs loudly and walks away.

---

The husband had done some work bulldozing and the owner of the property had started a fire to burn the wood. We decided to ride down the road to check it out (and make sure the bulldozer was a safe distance away).

Alfred is telling me about his day when Lillie interjects.

Lillie: My heart is broken.
Alfred & I look at each other, eyebrows raised.
Me: Why is your heart broken?
Lillie: It just is.
Me: Did someone hurt you or make you sad today at school?
Lillie: No.
Me: Honey, a broken heart means you’re sad or upset. 
Lillie: Oh. Then my heart is not broken it is full!

---

And on that note, here’s to having a full heart – whether it’s full from love, life, yourself, family, running, drawing, reading, laughter, whatever it is – you deserve it. Not because it’s Valentine’s Day but because you’re simply awesome. 

Have a great weekend friends!

PS. If you’re interested in Lillie Lately v.1, you can find that here!