I remember sitting in Relief Society one of my first weeks in my ward and spying one of the most beautiful children ever. Really, they’re a family of beautiful children, but my baby-loving eyes rested on the youngest of this tow-headed family. She had impressively white hair and the most beautiful big brown eyes, which stood out on her clear little face.
I was sitting next to her mom that day, so I started making silly faces and trying to win her affection. It kind of worked, to her mom’s surprise. Of course, that won me over completely. This little one was my new favorite because she liked me when she didn’t like many other adults. Clearly I was cool. Or so I thought.
After a little time in the ward, we became better friends with this family and started doing more together. I started getting excited because sometimes I could get this little girl to warm up to me. But then things changed.
She entered that shy phase many kids go through, and she entered it with a vengeance. Her parents would ask my husband and I to watch their kids during choir performances or on a couple of other occasions. I was happy to do it, but she was clearly not happy to come to me. Even though she’d be content after a little while, she knew how to keep a grudge. It became tragically sad (to me) that she wouldn’t even look at me after one of these occurrences. She’d just turn her head and pretend I didn’t exist. The ultimate snub. I wasn’t ready for that. And it lasted quite a while too.
It has been fun to watch her grow from a distance though. When she reached nursery age, she entered an independent phase. With this new phase has come a new attitude toward other people—including me. She doesn’t turn her head in disgust every time she sees me now. In fact, on Sunday she even called me by name and asked me to help her with something. I think we may be becoming friends. I sure hope so.