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Wednesday, October 05, 2011

Ruby

Norah misses her friends a lot. She talks about them all of the time, asks questions about what they might be doing at any given moment, and loves to say "remember when..." and tell me something funny about one of them. Like, the other day she asked me if I remembered how much she liked the slide in Ava's backyard. Or how she once (or 10 times) took a bath with Caleb. Or how Caroline has a pretend ice cream cone toy.

But it is missing Ruby that generates all of the tears around here. We talk about Ruby a lot. A LOT. How much we miss her. How much we love her. How Ruby would like this and that and the other. She puts things away to "show Ruby later." There's a cupcake in the freezer that's "for Ruby." She tells the new friends she meets about Ruby. That she is really nice. And has yellow hair like Rapunzel. Norah wants a princess dress. Aurora is her favorite, but she "already has that one that lives at Ruby's house."

The other day we were driving to school and she was really sad (about Ruby), so I made up a song to make her laugh. I would sing, "Norah's got a friend named Ruby. She is such a cutie. She really likes to...." then I would pause and Norah would shout PLAY DRESS UP! Or READ BOOKS! Or EAT CUPCAKES! We did this for a good 10 minutes and must have gone through like 20 things Ruby liked to do. Finally I think she must have run out of ideas because when it was her turn she shouted TOOT REALLY LOUD!

A girl after my own heart.

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10 comments:

  1. Nita_Gilger10/05/2011 7:06 PM

    What a great idea to make up the song with Norah filling in the blanks. You are doing a wonderful job of helping acknowledge feelings and bridging the way to move into a new normal. Way to go Janet!!

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  2. Isabelle Baeck10/05/2011 9:32 PM

    oh my god, heart b.r.e.a.k!

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  3. Cam10/06/2011 7:38 PM

    I remember Emma and Charlotte's last "tea party" together. Sharon and Char Char stayed the last week with us and my heart hurt so bad for Emma. They still Skype and chat like they've never been apart. But every once in a while Emma will tell me how much she misses her best friend.

    Hugs to Norah and Ruby!

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  4. The H's10/07/2011 12:48 PM

    That is so sweet and sad. What a good and loyal friend Norah is. Poor thing.

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  5. JAMS' HOUSE10/07/2011 9:16 PM

    Yes - what a great heart

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  6. k-dog studios10/08/2011 11:37 PM

    Norah is such a sweet one. What a heart-on-her- sleeve wearer. I had a dream last night that we were at your house and all the kids were skyping with ruby, pamma and megan. We all must be missing Ruby.

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  7. Pamma10/09/2011 8:02 AM

    Ruby so misses Norah and our sweet days together. Many times I also hear the "remember whens" - remember when we couldn't walk up the stairs, remember when we played at Cafe Zoe, remember when we danced, remember when you pushed us in the big stroller. One day at preschool we saw a woman we met in the park last spring and when she said hello to Ruby, Ruby said,"remember my friend Norah?" Recently Ruby has started calling me her best friend, "big Nanor," and then we play . . .

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  8. meganastone10/09/2011 9:20 AM

    I've been trying to leave a comment since you posted this but end up in tears every time. The feeling is mutual. Last week Ruby said, "I want Nanor to live in her old house again so I can see her every day." A keeps saying she's making new friends at school. My response? But will I want to spend all day every day with their mom too? Oh no. Tears again. Time to print this post for R's baby box.

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  9. aileen10/10/2011 9:42 PM

    Like Megan I read this post and wanted to leave a comment but didn't know exactly what to say cause it breaks my heart and brings tears. Miss you guys!

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  10. Maryellen10/15/2011 9:04 AM

    This post got me teary and then made me laugh out loud. Norah is such a sweet little lady.

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