Elena Wearing Granddaddy's Watch

Today was the first time Elena has been in my house since her birthday--January 16th.  Whenever she comes to my house, she notices everything that has changed or been moved since her last visit. What she noticed right away was my daddy's watch on the yellow table.  It's one of my treasures, one of the few things I can't give away--though she knows that she can have almost anything of mine.

"That's what I want," she said, zeroing right in on the watch.  "I love it." 

I told her the story of the watch--how I gave it to Lloyd one Christmas and how he wore it all the time.  I showed her pictures of him.  "I didn't get to meet him?" she asked.  "Does he love me still, from Heaven?"

I assured her that he did.  "Can I just put it on?" she asked.

It was a perfect moment--two days before what would have been her great-granddaddy's birthday, March 19.  

I offered her a watch of my own, but no.  "I don' like red as much as gold," she said.  "One day when my arm gets bigger I can have this one?"

We explored the wonderful new playground at Hemisfair park all afternoon, then waited in long lines to go up into the Tower.  Some bigger kids at the park had told her it might be scary, but she told them, "I'm not scared of towers."  From the top of the city she said, "If my parents were here, they would say this is awesome." 

"I can see your country from here," she said, looking out over the lit-up city. And Mommy and Daddy's country too."

I gave her this little smocked dress.
"I love it because it has flowers on it," she said.

Hemisfair Playground