A Little Update

Ok, so yes, once again I have failed in my attempt to update my blog, but since we are about to become a family of 5 in a few weeks and so much is going on, I want to, yet again, try to do a better job. I guess what has really prompted my desire to write is Rollins. She started Kindergarten in August, and she comes home with so many stories, concerns and interesting thoughts. How else to share them, but through here?

So, everyone that knows Rollins, knows about her heart. She is quite possibly the most caring and loving child I have ever seen. Now, that's not to say that she doesn't have a mean streak in her-especially when it comes to Grady, but for the most part, she is very nurturing and kind hearted. She has gone to my mother's nursery school since Jauary 2007, and everyone there comes from similar backgrounds and all have loving homes to go home to after school. With the start of kindergarten, Rollins noticed immediately that there were kids who didn't have everything they needed. One day she came home and said, "mommy, there is a boy in my class and his mother won't get him a nap mat, so can we make him one?" When we are packing her snack, she always wants to pack extra for the kids whose mommies forget their snack, and just recently, she has me sending her with a dollar for water everyday. Water is only 50cents, but she says there is a little girl in her class who doesn't have water and she buys her water. Now, might I remind you that she is only 5, but she has already become a cheerful giver. She absolutely loves helping her classmates and I think it's something most adults can learn from.

Today, Rollins comes home and says, "mom, school isn't for me." She had this pitiful look on her face and she just tucked her head in my arm. Holding back the tears, I asked her what had happened to make her so unhappy with school. She said, "mom, my friends are being mean to me." I asked her what she meant, and she just shook her head and cried. We crawled up in her bed, and I tried to explain to her that some of her friends had a lot more to deal with than she did. I told her how some of them only have one parent and some don't get to eat supper or have toys to play with or have new clothes to wear. I also explained to her that not everyone got to go home to a mommy and daddy that were nice to them. I said sometimes that makes the kids sad and not nice, but we should always be nice to them, because we might be the only person that is nice to them that day. What happened next, is one of the reasons I absolutely adore this little girl. She asked me if she could get some of her clothes and toys and take them to the kids in her class to help them be happy. I told her we would talk to her teacher and see who needed anything and we would give it to them. This made her smile, and she said, "they will really like that." Now, yes, it does hurt me that she gets her feelings hurt by kids being mean, but I have comfort in the fact that she now understands why everyone isn't nice, and hopefully, she won't let it affect her like it has been. I am so proud of the little girl she has grown into and I pray everyday that she keeps that innocence and caring heart.