Keepers

I've been thinking a lot about Kenley lately, and just wanted to post this so that I don't forget it. Kenley is just such a cool little person. She's so fun to talk to - she's interesting, funny, and compassionate. She asks these great questions and we get deep into conversation. I always try to save her for tucking in last, because we get to talking and I'm just in there forever.

Today we had this huge conversation about food and nutrition, and what types of foods and the healthiest and least healthy, and about whole-wheat carbs versus white carbs, and calories of different foods, and how many calories you need to function, and to lose weight/gain weight, and whether most people are trying to be thinner or fatter and why. I can just talk to her forever.

Then the other night we were talking about religion, and she asked if people who are married are ever different religions, and how that works. I explained that people handle that scenario in lots of different ways, and we were talking about them. And she was just so compassionate about families in that situation, and for moms that have to take their kids to church by themselves and handle the kids all alone. It reminded me of another time we were talking about divorce because one of her friend's parents are divorced, and we were talking about how her friend goes back and forth between the two houses, and she said, "That must be really hard." "For your friend?" I asked. "No, for her mom. That must be hard, to get divorced, and then sometimes not even have your kids there with you, and be all by yourself." And my heart just melted, that she could not only feel bad for her friend, and envision a struggle for someone her own age, but to so easily imagine the struggles of a mother who had gone through a divorce.

She's just cool, this kid. I've made her promise a million times that she will never, ever leave me and always live close to me, because I just want so badly to see up close and personal who she grows up to be.

And, on a lighter note, something that I don't want to forget about Claire is that she thinks the phrase is "Ooopsie, Spaghetti-o," instead of "Uh-oh, Spaghetti-o." And because of her pronunciation, it sounds even more awesome, like, "Ooop-y, Paghetti-o." I love it every single time.