Yesterday, I volunteered in the library for Lucy's class. No, I really have no business committing to that, but she has gotten so little of me in the past month, that I figured I should do something just for her (plus, I LOVE the library, and I want her to as well). And the pride on her face yesterday when we were in there totally made up for the fact that I was out in public wearing the same shirt I'd slept in the night before and maternity pants.
When they arrived in the library, the kids sat down in front of the librarian for story time. Before the librarian could even start reading, Lucy's hand shot up. "Ms. M., aren't you going to introduce the mothers who are here to help?" she asked pertly. I did not actually see Ms. M. roll her eyes, but I could sense that she wanted to. She introduced me and the other mother helper, who I am pretty sure was wearing clean clothes. Lucy beamed.
Then, as Ms. M. read the non-fiction book about tree frogs, she asked if anyone knew the word for animals who sleep during the day and are awake at night. Lucy's hand shot up. Again. She said, "Nocturnal!" (I had half-expected her to say "Milo!")
She raised her hand several more times to ask questions, and the librarian finally had to tell her to please just listen to the rest of the story and the instructions for checking out books. Oh, and at some point, she was hugging the boy next to her, while he tried to squirm away.
Seeing her in action at school has shown me that a) she's bright, confident and friendly to a fault and b) she has the potential to annoy the hell out of her teachers and classmates. If I could give her advice that she would understand it'd go like this: Dear Apple, Settle down a little. Trust me on this. Love, the Tree.