And This Little Piggy Cried....

Xylie's an emotional gal, and harbors no qualms about sharing her feelings with raw intensity. When she's happy, a simple smile will not suffice. Nope, happiness requires cheering. Sadness requires tears and yelps from the floors of her soul. When she's angry, she yells, stomps, clenches her teeth, and juts out her strong jaw.

And did I mention she's loyal? When she makes a friend, she keeps a friend. Her memory is long, her capacity to love is vast. And in her love is not reserved for living beings. Her imaginary friend, Baby Bird, owns a sliver of Xylie's heart. And today, at the Little Gym, Xylie fell in love again. This time with a stuffed animal named Piggy. We had missed last weeks class due to illness and didn't know that today was "Stuffed Animal" day. No problem with the folks at the Little Gym. They had stuffed animals for kids to borrow. Xylie was given Piggy to love and love she did. Piggy did every stunt that Xylie tried. Piggy raced, jumped, tumbled, and twirled.

You all know where I am going with this don't you? When it was time to return Piggy, Xylie cried. Not a whimper, not a sniff, but a howling ear-piercing, holler that accompanied a fountain of tears. She cried while returning Piggy. She cried while Mr. Chris, Miss Kathy, and the rest of the sweet staff assured her that she could see Piggy again. While we walked to the car, she cried. During the brief trip home, she sobbed. When we got home and she saw her daddy her cry bellowed.

Piggy who was loved for one hour was mourned for a solid thirty minutes. When she finally got composure she asked "Mommy, will the Little Gym have enough pretend food for Piggy to eat?" I assured her that Piggy could feast on all the pretend slop, corn, and chocolate chip cookies he desired. "Mommy?" she questioned again. "Do you think I could save up my money and buy my very own Piggy? I sure would like one." I agreed. She clung to her own stuffed animals and readied herself to move on.