Scarlett Star on Sunday |
Last Saturday Scarlett and I walked to Brooktree Park, near
our house. On the way we held hands, and
she asked me if I was afraid.
“Of what?” I asked her, smiling.
“Are you scared of a skeleton?” (Imagine this word coming out of the mouth of an adorable three-year-old)
I couldn’t help laughing.
I laughed so hard that she laughed with me. “Grandma, you’re so funny!”
We got to the playground and she began climbing everything—she
climbs like an Olympic athlete. You
would never guess that the baby born to our son Vince and our daughter-in-law,
Rikki, ever struggled with anything in her whole life.
In truth, Scarlett Star entered the world after a
particularly turbulent labor (I was there through it all and cannot forget the images
of her trying to be born). She was born
in Farmington, New Mexico three years ago today—the first grandchild to be born
after Mario and I returned from Africa. After
her mother delivered her, Scarlett was placed under lamps to help her recover
from jaundice. She was watched and
monitored for three extra days in the hospital, and finally got to come
home.
I remember those days because I secretly worried that
Scarlett’s rough beginning might be indicative of coming struggles she might
have with her health.
“It’s not our job
to worry,” Mario would tell me. “It’s our job to pray for her. We can be fearless because God is faithful!”
Scarlett --7 months old |
God has been faithful with Scarlett – she has flourished,
growing into a cool kind of warrior princess, fearless and filled with
life. She loves reading, drawing,
playing with Legos, and most of all, climbing everything that looks like fun—even
stuff that she is not supposed to climb.
Today this girl turns three!! Where did the years go? I
wonder how many years I will have in the beautiful wonder of her magical
childhood…
Every Saturday, Mario and I babysit her while her parents go
out. Usually, we go to the park or someplace
where she can run. She hurls sticks across
fields and I imagine her one day throwing a javelin. She leaps over clumps of grass, and I see her
running the hurdles. Last Saturday, when
we went to the park together, she ascended a steel ladder on the playground,
meant to be ascended by older kids. She made it look so easy, even as I stood
beneath her with that grandmotherly look on my face…
It was only then that I realized why she asked me why I was
scared. I use a silly ploy (sometimes)
to get Scarlett to hold my hand: I tell her I’m scared to walk alone.
An independent little girl, Scarlett wants to run ahead in
most things. She charges into many situations
with fearless abandon, just like many kids do.
The flip-side of this fearless personality is that she is tender and
sensitive, especially thoughtful of those around her.
I guess that’s why I tried this to motivate Scarlett, asking
her to hold my hand—by telling her that I am scared to walk alone.
Maybe I shouldn’t tell her "Hold my hand because I'm scared!" I can rest in the thought that God is faithful with
her! Happy birthday, dear Scarlett -- we miss you but we'll see you
later!!
Grandma