Sweet Rosemary Story...

I had to share a quick story about Rosemary. Rosemary was assigned the responsibility of Show-and-Tell at school this past Monday. She was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited. This is her third time doing show-and-tell and each time Jeff and I have gotten a total kick out of the things she has chosen to bring in. Everything from a photo of her with her cousins to her baker's hat and apron which her teacher informed us she did, in fact, model. This time, she chose an array of random toys - none with any particular meaning but she was clearly offended when I suggested she take some time to think about what she wanted to bring. On the way to school yesterday, she told me she was going to sing a song for show-and-tell. I immediately perked up, wondering if she was serious. She said she was going to sing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. This gave me a bit of a chuckle because although she does indeed sing this song on a regular basis, I have to help her remember the words to each phrase as she often gets them mixed up. I told her I thought it was awesome she wanted to sing a song and wished desperately to the depths of my soul that I could be a fly on the wall in her classroom. When we arrived at school, her teacher told her to go ahead and bring her show and tell bag in and set it on the chair so she'd be ready. I asked Rosemary if she wanted to tell her teacher that she would also be singing a song, and she told me it was a surprise. My heart was nearly bursting with anticipation, fear, pride and pretty much every other emotion under the sun. Jeff picked Rosemary up from school and I was just DYING to hear what he heard when he picked her up. Apparently, as Rosemary was leaving, her teacher yelled to Rosemary, "Hey, great singing today!" So as soon as Rosemary walked in the door, I of course began grilling her. Her interpretation of the story is hysterical and had me near tears - partially because it really is a funny story, but also because of my baby's ability to allow herself to be vulnerable. She indeed sang for show and tell and it was most definitely Rudolph. She said she sang first and that she didn't remember the words. She said Miss Jan helped her remember. I asked if the class clapped when she was done - she said no. I told her that was probably because they thought it was so awesome. I asked if they were smiling - she said no. Then she did an impersonation of what their faces looked like - and I could not contain my laughter. She gave me this expression that read something like, "What the heck is she doing?" and "Is this girl serious?" I, for one, could not have been more proud. I don't think that is something I would have had the courage to do - and I'm not so sure Jeff would have either. I'm proud of the fact that she didn't care what anyone else thought. I'm proud of the fact that she said she was going to do something and she did it, even though it hadn't been done before. And when it comes to Rosemary, I am so incredibly proud of the gentle, sensitive, intuitive, generous little person she is. The child has a beautiful heart and brightens the days of those that surround her. I am so thankful for her and so thrilled to be her mom.