bebe and morrie spend four days a week together and over the months that we've been doing our swap they have grown to truly love and depend on each other. on the weekends, they ask for each other regularly. when i'm sitting crosslegged on the ground, bebe will get a book, sit on one knee and point to the other knee and say "morrie." morrie will sit at his table with coloring books and crayons and set some crayons aside for bebe. this morning after she got out of the tubba bebe said expectantly, "morrie's house?" and had a huge, screaming, meltdown temper tantrum when i told her that we weren't going to morrie's house today.
last friday was, in many ways, a typical day for the dynamic duo. here are some photos i took throughout the day.
last friday was, in many ways, a typical day for the dynamic duo. here are some photos i took throughout the day.
having a morning snack at the playground.
bebe in her spot, morrie in his.
trainspotting on the way home.
after lunch, the two of them spent half an hour running back and forth throughout morrie's house, taking turns with the stroller and the truck. they'd back up against the bathroom door, as shown here, and then tear off through the kitchen and dining room. as they left my sight (i was in the kitchen cleaning up) i'd hear them giggling uncontrollably together. when they reappeared they'd have switched toys, and they'd repeat the game again.oh, and yes, bebe and i arrived at morrie's to find that they were both wearing their orange train shirts!
after nap, they took turns bringing me drinks of water from morrie's kitchen.
at the end of the day jessie and morrie and bebe and i walked into town to go to a bigger playground. they had a blast on the seesaw and the slides and playing in the sandbox.
a kiss as we parted ways at the end of the day.what i don't have any pictures of, unfortunately, is the really extraordinary moment that happened in the morning, when we were at the small playground with some friends. morrie was standing by the little rock wall (featured in this recent video) while his buddy ben tried to scale it. bebe was at the top of the small slide at the other corner of the playground. i was standing midway between them, keeping an eye on each while i chatted with ben's mom (whose name just happens to be marge).
suddenly, ben fell down from the middle of the rock wall onto the ground. as it turned out, he wasn't hurt, but marge reacted instinctively and ran to him as fast as she could. her speed and the intensity of her response must have startled and/or scared morrie, who burst instantly into hysterical sobs. i crouched down with my arms held open and asked, "buddy, can i give you a hug?" he walked over to me and let me hug him, but continued to cry really hard. between sobs, he said "beeee... BEEEEE!" "do you want bebe to give you a hug?" i asked. "y-y-y-yeaaaaaahhhhhh!" he wailed.
i showed him where bebe was, at the top of the slide. she looked a little worried as he staggered towards her, still crying at the top of his lungs, so i said "bunny, can you give morrie a hug? he feels really sad." she nodded, and when he reached her they embraced, hugging each other tightly for close to 30 seconds. they finished off with a kiss. and morrie stopped crying.
it was quite possibly the sweetest thing i've ever seen. all morrie needed to feel better was some comfort from his friend. another mom and i were in tears, moved by the depth of their connection to each other.
(saying goodbye at the end of the day. a reenactment of the hug at the top of the slide.)_
1 comment:
Reading your description brought tears to my eyes. What a special friendship and what a lesson in empathy.
Post a Comment