Her name was Haven Esther.
Who had a little curl...
It was white blond, fine as a spider's web, and as unruly as a lynch mob. Haven Esther loved to feel her hair, especially when her hands were greasy or sticky or covered in food. And she absolutely refused to leave a bow in it. As soon as her momma would comb those wild, beautiful locks, she would pull the bow out and hand it back to her momma, saying, "Bow, hair?" So, her momma would put the bow back in Haven Esther's hair, but no sooner than she had it in, the little cherub would pull it out and hand it back to her momma, saying, "Bow, hair?" So her momma eventually stopped trying to tame her tresses and even hid all the bows so that Haven Esther wouldn't find them and ask to have them in her hair.
Right in the middle of her forehead...
Haven Esther's hair was like spun silk, curly spun silk in the back and on the sides. The more humid it became, the more tightly her hair curled. Sometimes it curled into several corkscrew ringlets. Sometimes it seems to bunch together into one ringlet, at least until she slept, or rode in a car seat, or rubbed her dirty hands through it. On rainy days or just after a bath, the little girl often had one wayward corkscrew dangling between her eyes.
When she was good...
The little girl loved to sing and she loved to dance. Music moved her, as if she could not help but move when anything with a beat played. She loved animals, especially dogs and cows. Playgrounds were her favorite places. She talked up a blue streak, especially when she learned a new word. Haven Esther loved to learn new words and use them. She would repeat them over and over and over again, testing out new ways to use them. She was a very smart little girl.
When her daddy was in the bathroom, Haven Esther would shout, "Good girl, Daddy!" from the bottom of the stairs. She would shout "Good girl, Daddy!" all the way up the stairs until she finally reached him and could pat his leg saying again, "Good girl, Daddy! Good girl!"
She was very, very good...
Haven Esther was sick a lot, but her doctors and nurses were always amazed at how good she was. She laid still and quiet for many needle sticks and lab draws, even smiling and chatting with the nurses sometimes. She was so good at getting x-rays that she covered her own lap with the little lead apron.
Before she was even two years old, Haven Esther knew lots of her colors, peed and pooped in the potty with surprising frequency, and knew how to sort silverware. At night, she dived into her crib and laid down without a peep. She could climb ANYTHING and did.
Haven Esther's momma and daddy enjoyed her very much. They loved to see her learn and grow. They smiled at her funny faces and fun antics. Her brothers and sisters sometimes argued about who got to take care of her. Even her church family doted on her even though she wasn't very often friendly to them.
But when she was bad,
Sweet Haven Esther wanted what she wanted when she wanted it. And she didn't sleep well most of the time. She liked to be held and carried. She liked to be held and carried pretty much all of the time. She was a picky eater. She really, REALLY liked getting her own way.
She was horrid!
Sometimes little Haven Esther slept so little that her poor parents could hardly function the next day. Then, she would press herself up against the shower door when her momma was showering and bawl, "Momma, Momma shower?" until she was hoarse. When her momma got out of the shower, Haven Esther would cling to her momma's wet legs which makes drying off quite difficult as you can imagine. When Momma would put on her make up where do you think little Haven Esther was? That's right, hanging on Momma's leg crying, "Momma, Momma." Just to be difficult, Haven Esther would fall asleep at inopportune times (like lunch) and then only sleep for a short period of time before waking up again. Then, because the little girl, herself, was tired and cranky from not sleeping, she would spend all day just not being happy. In fact, the only thing that seemed to make her happy on days such as these was making her Momma miserable.
There were days that Haven Esther's momma was so tired and so grumpy and so stressed that she couldn't remember the times that her little girl was precious. On those days she was too worn out to remember her little girl's golden corkscrew curls or funny dancing or the way she told her daddy that he was a "good girl." On those days she sometimes went to church with her hair uncombed and makeup on only one eye and with mismatched shoes and when her friends patted her and asked her how she was she could only cry. On those days, she sometimes had a hard time remembering how much she really loved the little girl and then that would make Momma feel guilty and then she would cry some more.
But, once she had had a good cry and a nap, Haven Esther's momma remembered once more how much she loved her little girl with a curl right in the middle of her forehead.
Who had a little curl...
It was white blond, fine as a spider's web, and as unruly as a lynch mob. Haven Esther loved to feel her hair, especially when her hands were greasy or sticky or covered in food. And she absolutely refused to leave a bow in it. As soon as her momma would comb those wild, beautiful locks, she would pull the bow out and hand it back to her momma, saying, "Bow, hair?" So, her momma would put the bow back in Haven Esther's hair, but no sooner than she had it in, the little cherub would pull it out and hand it back to her momma, saying, "Bow, hair?" So her momma eventually stopped trying to tame her tresses and even hid all the bows so that Haven Esther wouldn't find them and ask to have them in her hair.
Right in the middle of her forehead...
Haven Esther's hair was like spun silk, curly spun silk in the back and on the sides. The more humid it became, the more tightly her hair curled. Sometimes it curled into several corkscrew ringlets. Sometimes it seems to bunch together into one ringlet, at least until she slept, or rode in a car seat, or rubbed her dirty hands through it. On rainy days or just after a bath, the little girl often had one wayward corkscrew dangling between her eyes.
When she was good...
The little girl loved to sing and she loved to dance. Music moved her, as if she could not help but move when anything with a beat played. She loved animals, especially dogs and cows. Playgrounds were her favorite places. She talked up a blue streak, especially when she learned a new word. Haven Esther loved to learn new words and use them. She would repeat them over and over and over again, testing out new ways to use them. She was a very smart little girl.
When her daddy was in the bathroom, Haven Esther would shout, "Good girl, Daddy!" from the bottom of the stairs. She would shout "Good girl, Daddy!" all the way up the stairs until she finally reached him and could pat his leg saying again, "Good girl, Daddy! Good girl!"
She was very, very good...
Haven Esther was sick a lot, but her doctors and nurses were always amazed at how good she was. She laid still and quiet for many needle sticks and lab draws, even smiling and chatting with the nurses sometimes. She was so good at getting x-rays that she covered her own lap with the little lead apron.
Before she was even two years old, Haven Esther knew lots of her colors, peed and pooped in the potty with surprising frequency, and knew how to sort silverware. At night, she dived into her crib and laid down without a peep. She could climb ANYTHING and did.
Haven Esther's momma and daddy enjoyed her very much. They loved to see her learn and grow. They smiled at her funny faces and fun antics. Her brothers and sisters sometimes argued about who got to take care of her. Even her church family doted on her even though she wasn't very often friendly to them.
But when she was bad,
Sweet Haven Esther wanted what she wanted when she wanted it. And she didn't sleep well most of the time. She liked to be held and carried. She liked to be held and carried pretty much all of the time. She was a picky eater. She really, REALLY liked getting her own way.
She was horrid!
Sometimes little Haven Esther slept so little that her poor parents could hardly function the next day. Then, she would press herself up against the shower door when her momma was showering and bawl, "Momma, Momma shower?" until she was hoarse. When her momma got out of the shower, Haven Esther would cling to her momma's wet legs which makes drying off quite difficult as you can imagine. When Momma would put on her make up where do you think little Haven Esther was? That's right, hanging on Momma's leg crying, "Momma, Momma." Just to be difficult, Haven Esther would fall asleep at inopportune times (like lunch) and then only sleep for a short period of time before waking up again. Then, because the little girl, herself, was tired and cranky from not sleeping, she would spend all day just not being happy. In fact, the only thing that seemed to make her happy on days such as these was making her Momma miserable.
There were days that Haven Esther's momma was so tired and so grumpy and so stressed that she couldn't remember the times that her little girl was precious. On those days she was too worn out to remember her little girl's golden corkscrew curls or funny dancing or the way she told her daddy that he was a "good girl." On those days she sometimes went to church with her hair uncombed and makeup on only one eye and with mismatched shoes and when her friends patted her and asked her how she was she could only cry. On those days, she sometimes had a hard time remembering how much she really loved the little girl and then that would make Momma feel guilty and then she would cry some more.
But, once she had had a good cry and a nap, Haven Esther's momma remembered once more how much she loved her little girl with a curl right in the middle of her forehead.
2 comments:
Aren't you so thankful for naps? At least you can wake up refreshed!
I hate them--I'm afraid I'm a little like the girl in your story whom I am sure is surely exaggerated in her badness! haha!
Your life is such a testimony to our relationship with God. Can you just imagine us in the role of Haven Ester and God as mommy and daddy. God lets those of us who do not have a Haven Ester in our life see His great power and glory in the simple fact you get by on so little sleep. That you are a loving mother and loving wife. And yes, a great Pastors wife because of this angel and the other 4 who came before her. May the God who deemed you worthy of this family continue to bless you.
Post a Comment