This Moment Love Thy Neighbor

One magical moment stood out and left an indelible print on my heart.

My husband, 11 month old son, and I went to a neighborhood Halloween gathering. As my son and I were playing on the floor with baby toys, a twelve year old girl came over to sit by us and this is how it went:

Young girl: “I just love babies! What’s his name?!”

Me: “Babies are great! His name is Malakai.”

Young girl: “I love that name!” Turns thoughtful, “You know I didn’t have a very good day at school today… a boy called me fat, so this cheers me up!”

Me: “Oh, I’m so sorry that happened…You’re beautiful! I get how you feel. Middle school was hard for me sometimes, too.”

Girl: “Yeah, I don’t like it, honestly…I get made fun of a lot…” *changes the subject and starts showering attention on Kai* “He’s just SOOOO cute!”

Kai: *smiles at her and takes to her quite quickly which surprises me since he has had stranger anxiety with others*

They continue playing then the magic happens…

Young girl kneels down so she can be more on eye level with Kai as he’s playing. Kai notices her and crawls closer over to her and gets mere inches from her face, let’s out a delighted baby squeal, and gives her a BIG open mouthed baby kiss on her nose.

I thought she would burst! Her eyes—that had moments before seemed somewhat dim—suddenly lit up with adoration, excitement, and love, and she exclaimed breathlessly, “I LOVE HIM!! I JUST LOVE HIM SOOOOO MUCH!!!” And she jumps up and runs to her mom and dad bursting at the seams and exclaims, “Mom…Dad…, I just got a baby kiss on the nose!!!!”

My heart feels near bursting…

Wow… I am so blessed to witness the beautiful unfoldment of this bond between a young girl who has struggled with being bullied and my little baby boy who made a niche in her heart and has helped her to feel seen and adored.

I am so blessed. I am so grateful.

Magic and Lessons:

#1. Be kind to others always.

#2.You are never insignificant.

#3. Just being who you are could be just what someone needs to turn their day around.

#4. Baby kisses fix anything!