Short and Sweet

So Lily has a friend from school with an equally, should we say, feisty personality. I love eavesdropping on their play as they navigate various situations each from the vantage point of assumed leadership. This friend had been away for much of the summer and recently returned; today was the first day the girls had seen each other in almost two months. I should also mention that said friend, like Lily, has a new baby sister, even more new than Lily's, in fact, and like Lily has had mixed and fluctuating reactions to the newcomer.

During this two month period of Lily's friend's absence, our home has changed significantly. All of the toys have been moved out of Lily's room, and into the new playroom next door. Annika has been moved into what is now exclusively a bedroom, as has her--formerly Lily's--large white crib. The room they now share looks nothing like it did earlier in the summer when Lily and this friend played in it quite a bit.

When the friend arrived at our apartment this afternoon, she, as is her custom, marched right in, depositing unwanted items of clothing--her skirt, her shoes--in her wake. Lily was excited to show her that she and Annika were now sharing a room, and implored her to come see the big surprise in her "old room." The friend willingly complied, and the babysitter and I followed; she too seems to enjoy their dynamic.

Well? What do you think? Lily asked, arms spread, giving her friend time to take in the dramatic changes, the elephant in the room: Annika's huge crib. The friend surveyed the room a few times, taking her time, finally landing her gaze on the window sill.

You got a new clock, she said, blase as all get out, and I followed her pointing finger to the little blue clock my grandmother had just given Lily and which she had tucked there without my knowledge. I waited for Lily to express dismay. How could her friend not notice how much her room--her life--had changed? Instead, Lily grinned. She ran over to the window and picked up the clock. She carried it over to her friend. The babysitter and I watched with bated breath.

It tells real time," she said in a hushed, dramatic whisper. And then they were off, over to the playroom, where the real fun was now to be had.