Sweet and dreamy

J has always been known to say exactly what is on her mind. She is rarely quiet and is never subtle. Mostly, her musings are logical and thorough observations of the world around her. Like most kids her age, she is always chewing mentally on something, but I tend to think she's even more intense than some. We have had numerous people comment upon witnessing J's thought-verbalizations, "She doesn't miss much, does she?" No indeed.

I like to think this need to analyze, categorize and organize comes from my side of the family ('Dad, can you see her? Isn't she something?'), but am fully aware that scientific propensities exist on JBL's side as well. Compared to K's deep intelligence that is tempered with an equally deep empathy, J tends to be dominated by calculated reason. Occasionally, however, she will show flares of sappy emotion that surprise me.

When she has nothing else to do, J likes to attack a piece of blank paper with a barrage of crayons, producing a wide array of creatures and scenes, but often her art evolves into love notes. I will receive an ode or two. JBL will get letters stapled closed, placed on the counter where he leaves his keys and wallet on returning home from work (along with a staple-remover so he can easily open his note). But most often K is the object of J's affections. Each day of this year's summer vacation has seen at least one work of art containing K's name in bold, bright colors, or in a collage of materials glued together across multiple pages. Thanks to the aforementioned empathy, K very kindly exclaims, "Wow, that's amazing!" or "I love that!" with every presentation. Walls and bulletin boards around the house are densely populated with K's name.

Sometimes, however, J's devotion is expressed in other ways. This morning, she came downstairs and began busily working and humming at her desk while I fixed her breakfast. Suddenly she burst out, "Mommy! I caught two of those fuhzel things that float in the air!"

"Really? Did you make a wish?"

"Yep. I made TWO wishes. And I want to tell you what they are!"

I paused and turned, giving her the rapt attention she was angling for. "So, what were they?"

"Well," she clapped her hands together, "first, I wished that Kate could be with us EV-ER-Y DAY. And the other one was," she took a deep breath and clasped the back of her chair, "I want a unicorn!" The force of her emotion, the dream of something as magical and perfect as a beautiful creature who lives only in our imaginations, along with something as magical and perfect as the constant presence of her big sister, was almost more than I could handle.

"Wow!" With eyes stinging, I smothered a grin and went back to my yogurt and strawberry preparations. Isn't she something?