May There Always Be

So I'm sitting in the airport in Edmonton trying my best to stop crying. There is one good thing about being weepy when I go through customs, though ... the agents give me tissues and don't ask me very many questions. I've found that most people are really pretty nice when they know someone's heart is breaking. All I can think about this morning is my little Coraline waking up and wanting to know where her Ghee is and little Amelie missing my singing and swaying when her tummy hurts. Geez ... the older those kiddos get, the harder these goodbyes will be. 

Matt and Becca spend a ton of time reading and singing to their girls, and they have, as many parents of young children do, certain routines they follow when it's naptime or bedtime. I've got a bunch of notes jotted down to help me remember some of the funny, sweet, tender and downright hilarious things I'll share in the coming days, but without question one of my favorites involved Coraline's naptime. 

Just in case I hadn't already picked up on the required things that accompanied her naptime ritual, she filled me in again on the day Matt and Becca went to Calgary and Boo and I spent the day together. Making sure she had her special blanket, her book of choice had been read, she was tucked in the right way, her back was sufficiently scratched, Violet was playing soft music, the ladybug was displaying purple stars, and the song ... the extra special song had been sung. Each time I put her to bed while I was there, I couldn't help but think of her Daddy when he was a little boy ... sniffle, sniffle, sniffle.

The naptime song is May There Always Be Sunshine ... with a whole bunch of additional Coraline-selected May There Always Be ... mom, dad, puppies, blue skies, Amelie .... and Ghee ... she always said, "may there always be Ghee." Someday, when she's all grown up, I'm going to tell my sweet baby girl that Ghee is here because of her ... there is Ghee because there is Coraline.

Time to get on the plane ... tears and all.