Fingers Through The Hair

Usually, when I arrive home before Sondra, Emily is immediately devastated. Some days she screams and yells at me to go away. Some days she simply runs away to hide. Every day she refuses to give me a hug or a kiss which is the tradition we are trying to teach her to do when a family member leaves or arrives.

Today I came home to what Nana described as a grumpy Emily who hadn't quite finished waking from her nap. As I set my keys down, Emily peeked over the edge of the couch to see me instead of mommy. To my surprise, she didn't make a sound.

After Nana explained her condition, I knelt at the arm of the couch and reached over and ran my fingers through her hair. Pushing it, yes -big time. I fully expected Emily to swipe my hand away and scream NO! at me then threaten me with a spanking (wonder where she gets that?). Instead she quietly snuggled up to the arm of the chair letting me play with her hair for a couple of minutes. Then she raised up, gave me a kiss and snuggled into my shoulder.

Wow. These are the moments a parent lives for.