melt my heart

a friend used this term to describe this photo when i posted it on flickr last night.

when miss h decided that she was going for camp for a month this summer, i knew it was the right decision for her.
without a doubt.
she is the kind of kid that thrives on spreading her wings.
and i am the kind of mom that believes that it is absolutely essential that she be able to do so.
because i was the same kind of girl.

so off she went. happy as a clam, head in a book before we had left camp grounds on that first day, ready for her adventure.
her letters home ( i must remember to share some of those, they are hysterical ), full of exclamation marks, drawn in multicolour pen, were all we needed to know that she was indeed having the time of her life.

 we also received a call home ( a moment of panic because the camp NEVER calls unless it is something very, very bad... ) quickly reassuring us that miss h was not only FINE but had landed the role of adult simba in the camp production of "The Lion King" and would we be able to ensure that we would have time on visitor's day to stay for the production?

would we???? would we????
bien oui!!!!

so what a day it was:).
a perfect day, in the words of my husband.

the meeting between the baby and his beloved sister was just lovely. he just looked at her...and went for the knee hug:).
and when she lifted him up?
hugs and kisses:)
over and over and over again from him.
which is fairly unusual.
like incredibly unusual.
he just stared straight into her eyes and was happy.

we didn't really think about how her being gone would impact everyone else in the family.
the baby is without his main playmate, organizer and affectionate protector.
my husband is without his partner in crime. they are very similar and he is starting to miss the energy she brings to...well...everything at home:).
her big brother? he received two letters to our one...filled with sibling innuendos that left him laughing and...missing her;).
and me? well, i am without my best girl:).

and she?

fabulous as simba...thriving on stage and under the hot lights.

the attitude and personality that we are missing at home was right up there, under the face paint and mane.
there were lines delivered with such pre teen angsty annoyed conviction, that the audience laughed out loud while my husband and i looked at each other in absolute recognition of her character shining through.

and she kept looking right at me and smiling:).

and that melted my heart.
she was happy, so so so happy.

and then the last song was sung, the bows taken, special birthday packages to ONLY be opened on her special day delivered to the office, an illicit lollipop snuck and a quick dip in the lake ended by the camp bell announcing it was time for families to leave their girls again.
for more adventures.

miss h had a moment of sadness when we had our last hug...but as we pulled away, i looked back and she was already skipping down the road towards her friends.

and that melted my heart a little as well.