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Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Sweet And Tender Ro

{To "Stay At Home Wifey" - Thanks for becoming a follower, I tried to comment on your blog the other day, but it asks for word verification and something weird happens and it only shows me the top half of the word and does not allow me to scroll down. I see others leave comments, so I have no idea if the problem is from my end...}

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I was about to post about Ate and some recent "changes" he made in his life, but then I thought I might wa
nt to focus on another child.

I often blog about So and her creativity and her ability to make a sculpture of Abe Lincoln or something of the like, out of paper clips, dried corn kernels, hay and drier lint. She is the oldest a
nd could easily overshadow her younger siblings .... if I let her.

I blog about the baby for obvious reasons. Because, frankly, he is the baby. That makes him cute and extremely blog
worthy, even if all he does is roll around, laugh, giggle, eat, poop, babble and drool.

I blog about Ate and his, uh .... anal retention. He is also my FIRST boy, so all the "boy" stuff that has any blog va
lue gets posted at some point in regards to him.

But there is one kid who falls into that unpleas
ant space in the family. She can get lost easily (partly because she is so tiny) in that big hole, that abyss that is reserved for, the sweet, angelic, can go off to the basement for hours occupying herself and only emerge when I realize she has not been seen for 4 hours, kid. I sometimes have to remind myself that she actually DOES exist. She can be quiet, but she has plenty of fire in her. And when she does emerge, from wherever she has been for the past 4 hours, she always has the most profound things to say. She is my Ro. And today I post about her.



Sweet Ro in the Summertime.

She ALWAYS smells good.

She has a tremendous sense of hygiene and always
smells like lavender soap and watermelon shampoo.


Sweet Ro enjoying her just picked apple.

She has a tremendous spirit. She will always remind me to say the appropriate blessing before eating any food.


Sweet Ro on Chanukah

While her siblings went grabbing for the gifts below, Ro just stood back to watch the glow of the flames and the glistening lights as they flickered.

She has enormous sensitivity to the world and its "going ons" around her. She does not take any moment for granted.

She is observant and becomes enlightened by that which she sees or hears about as it relates to her own life.

Two weekends ago, we were at a "Youth" convention that we attend annually. On Sunday evening, there was a banquet for the teenagers and Ro was getting very involved in the activities that were taking place that night. At some point, an award ceremony began and I left my girls in the room to watch the ceremony, while I took Ate back to our room where Hun and Bam were already settling in for the night so that he too could go to sleep.

I returned to the award ceremony and let the girls sit there for another five minutes, at which point, it was time to return with them to the room for bedtime.

As we were leaving, Ro looked up at me and asked,

"Mommy, why does [G-d] make funny people?"

"What do you mean by funny people?"

(I was pretty sure I knew what she was referring to, but I inquired.)

"People who move in funny ways and talk funny..."

I noticed the direction she was looking and that verified for me, what she was trying to ask via her five and a half year old, innocent view of life.

There is a subgroup of teenagers within the Youth group that caters to disabled and challenged teenagers, and Ro wanted to know why G-d would afflict any child with those sorts of challenges and disabilities.

"Ro, we don't always know why [G-d] decides that a child should be born with challenges and disabilities, maybe we need to learn something important from it. But we always need to be kind and considerate to all children whether they are healthy or not."

And then Ro said,
"I know why, because we need to CARE. And I CARE about them and I think that is why they are here, so that we CARE."

Yesterday morning, I handed Ro the clothing I picked for her that morning and she started her semi-typical kvetch,

"I don't like those clothes...."

But then she stopped abruptly and took them from me and went off to get dressed.

About ten minutes later, while she was eating her breakfast, Ro asked,
"Mommy, you know why I did not cry about the clothes that you gave me, even though they were not the clothes I wanted?"

"Why, Ro?"

"Because, I thought, well at least I am lucky to have clothing because there are some children who have no clothes and they are always cold and naked, so I shouldn't complain."

Later that day, when she returned home from school, Ro asked for a sugary snack. I typically give them a snack after school, but I like them to have a fruit or veggie first. So I told Ro, she could have the snack after she ate a fruit.

She began to whine,
"I don't want a fruit now, can have the fruit later???"

She stopped abruptly and then got quiet and ran to the counter to grab a banana.

A moment later, she said,

"Mommy, you know why I did not cry about having a fruit before the yummy snack?"

"Hmm, Ro, I can not possibly imagine why you did not cry..."

"Because, I am lucky to have fruits AND snacks and there are some children that do not have food and that is so sad."


It's nice to know that my lessons and words can almost be repeated back to me verbetim. Who knew she was ever listening.

Well, I am not surprised. Ro actually takes every word and lesson in and then she keeps it locked up. She goes back to it when she wants and analyzes and dissects.

And when you least expect it, she pulls it out and pulls off the most sweet and tender moments.

My sweet and tender Ro.

7 have shown Orah a little love:

Elisha said...

beautiful post, you are lucky to have such a wise daughter!!

Anonymous said...

Can I borrow Ro for like a week so her sweet and sensitive nature can rub off on my children? Truth is, my kids to have tender moments like that too. Unfortunately, there is a lot of Sh%@ that goes on in between, like the whining, kvetching and fighting. So, I tend to forget those precious, tear jerking moments that make me think I must be doing something right as a parent after all.
- Miss S.

Melissa E. said...

Wow, it sounds like Ro is a very sensitive child, both to the environment around her and to other people. I mean that in the best way. I learned about multiple intelligences theory in graduate school, and there is a kind of smarts that is interpersonal, that enables you to really empathize with others. It sounds like your daughter has that kind of innate intelligence. That will serve her well in life. What an amazing little girl. :)

adinab said...

she's so sweet. i wonder if it's a second child thing. cobi's my sweety pie, too. and he's totally the child that can get "lost" in the chaos b/c he's just such a good boy! sometimes i have to remind myself just to go over and give him a kiss and tell him how amazing he is....

Donna said...

What a precious and sweet child. Thanks for sharing your beautiful child with us. Love to see you posting.

wife.mom.nurse said...

What an absolute darling! What a heart. What a little blessing!

I just love 5 year olds... But this little lady is extraordinary :)

christy rose said...

Orah, This is a beautiful post about your daughter Ro. She sounds delightful. And she is just adorable too. "Wife Mom Nurse" I am always looking for new blogging friends. I enjoyed glancing around and meeting your family. I would love it if you would stop by and meet me and my family some day. It was nice meeting you,
Christy Rose