My dreams for you

Dear Gracie,

This freezing cold Monday morning, we are snuggled up in the living room watching the build up to President Obama's inauguration.  You are just a tiny bit more interested in hitting the bathtub button in your Little People Dollhouse (over and over and over) than actually watching the coverage, but I'm sure the importance of this event taking place, and on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, does not escape you. 

President Obama will address our country shortly with sweeping ideas of what is to come - his hopes and dreams, and what he wants to tackle in the next four years.  Four years ago on his first inauguration, Daddy and I were still a few months away from being married.  We lived in Texas, and you were only a tiny idea floating around in the back of our minds.  Our world was a very different place than the one we live in now.  I will listen to the President's speech today with a different agenda than I had four years ago because this country that he speaks about now includes you. 

The world you will grow up in is vastly different than the one I grew up in.  You probably will not understand the importance of President Obama being elected as the first African American President of the United States.  He will just be another President to you.  You will never know a time without security threat levels and armed guards in schools.  You will grow up with information (and misinformation) from the media available at all times, and will have to learn to navigate that.  Oh yes, Gracie girl, your world will be different.

Here is what I wish for the President to say to us today, what he wants the country to look like for you.  Here is what I wish for you to know and grow up in, a country that I would be proud for you to call your own.

Let us move away from "red" and "blue" states and back towards the United States of America.
Let Congress soften their hearts and work towards true bipartisanship.  We elect you to do great things for us that we are unable to do alone.
Let everyone be free to love whomever they want and to shout it from the rooftops without fear!
Let us remember that we are all created equal, and that we all flourish together.   
Find the good, and praise it!
Pursue happiness - take risks - move onward and upward never satisfied with the status quo.

All of this and more is what I dream of for you, my dear girl.  I know that just writing down these words will not force these ideas into being.  It is up to me, and my generation to work together to create this country and world for you.  I promise you that I will do my absolute best.

xoxo
Momma

Sneezes and Cuddles

Dear Gracie,

This past week, you have been experiencing the second cold of your existence.  You woke up one morning barely able to breathe with a face frosted with glistening snot you had wiped all over your face and into your hair.  That first day was awful.  You were whiny, grumpy, and cried for hours while I scrambled to find something that would make you smile.  You totally skipped your second nap and did not want a Boogie Wipe within five feet of your face.  By 5 o'clock, I was exhausted and not looking forward to what was sure to be a sleepless night.

Then, something strange happened.  You stopped rolling around on the carpet crafting a dog hair beard on your face and looked up at me.  It was like something in your little brain clicked, and you crawled over to me and lifted up your arms, demanding to be picked up.  So, of course, I picked you up, and you laid your little head down on my shoulder and for those five wonderful seconds that you left it there, the world was ok again.

And then it was over, and you threw yourself down on the carpet and stuffed a sheep from your Little People Nativity set into your mouth.  Thank you for those five seconds when you let me play the role of nurturing mother.  I was re energized for the next three days.  Ha!  Yeah right.  We spent three hours together that night in your room where I attempted to rock you to sleep, and you waved to the stuffed animals on your bookcase and tried to jump out of my arms.

I still love ya, kid.

xoxo
Momma

Banana Back

Dear Gracie,

You have mastered the art of sharing your meals with your partner in crime, Daisy.  When you've finished eating whatever is on your tray, you peek down to see where she is and with one sweep of your arm, the scraps are on the floor and quickly eaten.  The only problem is that sometimes Daisy is not in the best position to receive your leftovers.  Like this morning, she was standing up and your mushed banana landed square on her back instead of in her drooling mouth.  Of course, she couldn't reach the mush, and you and I laughed at her while she ran in circles trying to get it off.  Silly puppy.  But, seriously, she requested that we work on your aim.

xoxo
Momma

p.s.  Next year at Daisy's vet appointment when they tell us for the third year in a row that she is overweight, I'm just going to silently point at you.