Day 148

Wednesday January 12, 2011

Nina and her True Heart!

The first thing Nina said to me this morning, "I'm so glad I got my ears pierced!" Precious honey-girl!!! We spent the morning arranging all her new earrings in the jewelry box Teddy had given her at Christmas time. She delighted in the fishy and froggy earrings she had bought, but LOVED the flower earrings the most!

After breakfast she asked if we could go shopping for more earrings. All I ever needed was Nina's enthusiasm for shopping and I was ready to go! We jumped into the car and drove to La Cumbre mall to the other Claire's in town. We spent about 15 minutes looking through each tower of earrings before she decided upon which batch she wanted to take home. We bought a series of animal earrings (e.g., lady bugs, worms, chicks, elephants) and more flower earrings :)

As we drove back home, Nina said, "I bet Ryder is going to be excited about my earrings. I think he is going to be very happy!" That's when it dawned on me....she had done this all for him :) Just as the thought crystallized in my head, Nina asked, "Can we go take Ryder the picture I colored for him?" Aha!!! I was totally right!!! The little rascal had gotten her ears pierced because she wanted to look pretty for her true heart! My heart melted!!! We are all the same, whether we are almost 6 or 66....we want to look pretty for our true hearts!!

So....after we picked up Teddy we stopped by to see if Ryder was home. Teddy growled at the idea and insisted that he was staying in the car :) Lucky for us, Ryder was home and was a complete sweetheart!!! Nina piratically came unglued as she gave Ryder the WALL-E picture she had colored and he said "Thank you." She was so elated to see him!!! She couldn't stop smiling and after he hugged her, she looked over at my lap, as if calculating whether or not her weakened knees could hold her up :) My precious honey-girl was on cloud nine because she was with her true heart!! Myself and Kelly (Ryder's mom) just smiled, delighted by the joy emanating from Nina and the kindness pouring out of Ryder!

Ryder is simply a precious and gentle boy!!! It is obvious that his parents have loved and nurtured him because he has a heart of gold! He did not once hesitate in interacting with Nina. He hugged her without a second thought and he never gave her that Gee you look different look that she so often gets from other kids. Ryder was simply a gentleman, through and through! He was her buddy from preschool, a buddy that loved her and now that she was visiting, it did not matter that she looked different...she was still his buddy! All I wanted to do was scoop up Ryder and thank him for his generous spirit but I knew I'd probably freak him out....sweet little guy!!

As we stood there, I asked Nina if she wanted to tell Ryder what she had done the previous day. She blushed and said, "I got my ears pierced!" Without hesitation Ryder replied, "They look pretty. I like it." That was all it took. His affirmation and admiration sealed the deal for Nina and she proclaimed, "I love Ryder!" Kelly and I gently giggled as we suggested that the kids sit in the living room.

Nina sat down on the couch and Ryder proceeded to show her his legos! Kelly asked if Nina had gotten her hair cut and Nina recounted that I had cut it. Again, Ryder didn't miss a beat and said, "I like it. It looks pretty." Nina melted like butter and proceeded to tell Ryder that she loved him about another dozen times! Luckily Ryder is super mello and kind and never said anything to indicate that he was uncomfortable with Nina's continuous declarations of love :) At one point, Kelly spoke on Ryder's behalf and added that they loved her too and prayed for her every night! After one more declaration of love and a final hug, we said goodbye and agreed to plan a future playdate soon!

Nina did not stop smiling all the way home. She turned to Teddy and said, "Ryder liked my earrings." Teddy scowled! When we got home, Nina sat on the mattress and within seconds fell asleep! Honey-girl!!! Teddy walked upstairs, grumbling under his breathe how lame it was that he had to wait in the car! Oh Teddy!!!