Stealing My Heart

I realize now it's not at all a challenge.

Shamolie has been one of Jessica's and my favorite kids - a beautiful British-Indian girl with large round eyes and a cap of inky-black curls. She's a very good-tempered child, with a slow but sure smile - so very sweet and pretty; I've heard her throw a crying tantrum just once.

Today, Shamolie's yaya brought her older brother Eashan along for her Level Three class. Because he's already five and a half (turning six in May), he wasn't allowed into the play area; so to keep him from being bored, I gave him a stack of note-paper and a pen, and a yellow toy truck one of our kids had left behind.

Having spoken with their mother once, I learned that Shamolie is in fact more independent and assertive than her brother, which made me assume him to be a reticent and needy kid. Eashan's as every bit sweet-tempered as Shamolie, and is in fact a friendly and very responsive child, even though, like Shamolie, he takes a little time to warm up.

After I'd handed him the pen and paper, he proceeded to write me a 'message' which he then sent to me on the flatbed of the toy truck; in fact, he sent me two messages in all. The first was a picture of me, including the clown on my T-shirt, and the second of the clown itself.

And so, with just two notes, Eashan has stolen my heart.

I spent the entire day pulling the two 'messages' out incessantly and peeking at them, smiling like I've been blessed with endless rainbows and sun-beam showers.

Which, actually, I think I had.