Xanthe's Life

This past Sunday was the single most important day of Xanthe's life. She's had some milestones, some pretty big days in her short life, like meeting her parents for the first time, arriving on American soil as a U. S. citizen, finding out she had a brother and sisters...But Sunday was bigger than all that. It was Xanthe's turn to bring the snacks for nursery at church.

The previous Sunday, Xanthe brought home the special nursery snack bag and instructions to the effect of, "Send a LOT of food!!" I panicked, thinking for sure we would lose the treat bag right away. Xanthe wasn't about to let that happen. Every night at bedtime, she asked, "Where the snack bag for noos-wee?" I kept telling her it was in the mudroom, hoping it still was and would be until Sunday. You have no idea how things can just disappear around here.

Sunday morning, Xanthe was up early to prepare for her role as Bringer of the Snack Bag. She was ready for church with the hefty bag on her shoulder 5 hours early. We had packed it with mini rice cakes and bags of apple slices. Xanthe's job was to protect the goodies from thieving hands, and to deliver it safely to her beloved teachers at the appropriate time. She had to carry it to church herself, of course. The triumphant look on her face when she finally arrived at nursery, amid much fanfare, was adorable. Afterwards, Xanthe recounted how the teacher had passed out the snacks and the kids had eaten them. She's still talking about it. Sometimes we forget how easy it is to make little ones happy, and how easy it is, too, to overlook their simple joys. I have a quote that says, "The secret to having it all is knowing you already do." Xanthe had it all this Sunday, and she knew it!