Oh, Ghee ...

When I arrived in Canada on Friday evening, it was snowing and bitterly cold. Come on, it's February in Canada ... of course it was snowing and bitterly cold ... duh. When I stepped out from the warmth of the airport to get in Matt and Becca's car, the cold felt a lot like the needles I use to check my blood sugar ... it was like a million needles slammed into my face. Now that I've been here for a couple of days, I've sort of adjusted to the subzero temps or else I've learned to better prepare myself for the sting when I step outside ... or ... I'm busy hanging on to Coraline's hand so she doesn't slip on the ice while trying to make sure I don't wipe out myself. The truth is that by the time we finally get to the car, I'm sweating and thankful it's so cold outside ... suffice it to say I have a whole new level of respect for my daughter-in-law Becca and what she does every day.

I think it's safe to say that if you've been reading along with me for more than ... oh ... a day, you know my granddaughter Coraline is incredibly verbal and that her vocabulary is unbelievably extensive for a 3-year-old. And if Amelie's baby jabbering and noise making is indication of future verbal skills, I'd say Coraline may well have met her match in the little girl talking department ... and I'd also say that Matt and Becca are in for quite the adventure, boy, oh boy, are they.

Coraline has said a ton of really sweet things to me over the last three days ... she's got a really sweet and caring spirit ... but one of my favorites has to be when she wraps her arms tightly around my neck and repeats the words, "Oh, Ghee ..." over and over and over again. Nothing follows her "Oh, Ghee ..." declarations ... well ... nothing except for her very sweet sigh of contentment as she snuggles her little head into my neck. And here's the thing ... nothing more needs to be said because Coraline and I know ... we know what the unspoken words are ... we know we have a special bond ... we know "Oh, Ghee ..." is enough ... we know "Oh, Ghee ..." says it all.

As I was reading her bedtime story to her tonight, Coraline turned and looked up at me and said, "Ghee, you not go far away amorrow?" Tears filled my eyes as I assured her that I wasn't going far away tomorrow and that I would be at her house for several more days before I have to leave. "Oh, Ghee ..." she said quietly ... "Oh, Ghee ..." I held her a little more tightly tonight as I finished reading her book ... you bet I did, friends ... you bet I did.