Extraordinary Ceci

During the holidays I read a book called The Gift of an Ordinary Day that my sister-in-law Emily recommended.  One of the many very important insights expressed in this memoir was that when our children are grown and gone we'll miss the ordinary, every day things more than events or trips taken.  The book's emphasis is to slow down and notice and appreciate our ordinary days.

This post is a glimpse into an ordinary week with Ceci.


Ceci is a little songbird who sings as she goes.  She always has a joyful song in her heart, and often there is a twirl or skip that goes with it.  She is tender and thoughtful, often giving up something she would like simply because someone else wants it. 


She is wonderfully affectionate.  Every morning she finds me to give me a "cuddlebug hug" which is a cling-on-and-squeeze-with-all-my-strength hug.  She promises to give these to me even when I'm a grandma.  She is the family "mole".  She burrows into small places to retrieve things, and no matter where or how I'm sitting she'll somehow burrow her way onto my lap.

She is a self-proclaimed vegetarian and refuses to eat meat.  She also passes up goodies (sometimes) when we give her a green light to have them because "they aren't good for my body".

She loves to learn when the learning is her choice.  She hasn't been learning French for more than a year but has logged on to Rosetta Stone on her own every day for the past few weeks.  She's up for any learning adventure.

When someone needs help she is the first to say, "I'll help!"  When there is an opportunity to be silly and make someone laugh she is the first to seize it.

Yesterday we were in REI and she picked up this hat and said, "What in the world is this for...to warm your whole face?"  She tried it on to see how that would feel.

She's got a style all her own.  She told me this week that she would like a hat collection.  This beret is her favorite.  She gets lots of comments when she wears it.

She is a lion of a character.  (Sometimes her roar is a little too loud and ferocious.)  She stands up for what is right and good.  She will defend anyone being picked on.  Match this strength and courage with her tenderness and you have a really amazing little human being.

I treasure every ordinary day with this extraordinary little person.