The Almighty "L" Word

I feel so lucky that I am now in a position where I get to see my three-year-old niece on a regular basis. Not only is the kid hilarious, she's extremely kind and generous for a little tyke, especially considering that she has no siblings to contend with. I'm also amazed that she can run away from me, screaming "MEAN RACHAEL!" one minute (you know, for not allowing her to play with knives) to wanting to share her cookie with me the next. Oh, a day in the life of a three-year-old.

Never a snugly baby, my niece now sometimes has the impulse to cuddle up with a family member but it's still few and far between. She's just too darn busy to stop and be affectionate! Therefore, you can imagine my surprise when out of nowhere the other day, sugar sweetness came dripping out of her mouth.

Recently, she walked in on me practicing some yoga and has been intrigued ever since. (Her favorite pose is three-legged dog.) Anyway, considering my ongoing stiffness, I’m constantly dropping to the floor to twist and stretch and if she’s around, she often feels compelled to join in. I always try to teach her something new so the other day, I decided to teach her my favorite pose, pigeon.

So there I was, halfway into the pose while trying to maneuver her tiny limbs into the same formation. I finally got her legs into some variation of the pose and then proceeded to demonstrate how to lean forward and press one’s forehead to the floor. As I peeked over to see if she got it, her round little face lifted from the carpet and from behind a few blond curls dangling in her face, she chose this time to say, “I love you.”

Now, the closest I’ve gotten to this was a few weeks ago when in the midst of some auntie/niece Bugs Bunny viewing pleasure, she said, “I like Rachael.” That in itself made my heart flutter. So you can imagine the lump that formed in my throat, right in the middle of pigeon pose, hearing the much more important “L” word.

“I love you, too, honey,” I said, feeling my body relax even further into the pose. And then just like that, she sprung up and decided to see what her momma was up to. And I stretched out even further onto the floor as if I was turning into a puddle, my heart melting faster than anything else.