The Best Ever

My kids don't watch very much network TV. We usually choose Nick Jr shows or movies for them. In other words- they don't see too many commercials. Over the holiday season, there are lots of specials they want to watch- Charlie Brown, The Grinch, etc. Since they're on regular channels, commercials are unavoidable. The problem is this: Elena is six years old now, and I've noticed her focusing on ads for the SPCA, St. Jude's, UNICEF and such. I'm pretty quick with the remote and skipped over these commercials for her, but yesterday, I messed up.

We were all in the car after school, and a commercial for a local animal shelter came on. Honestly, I wasn't paying much attention to the radio, but Elena was. Suddenly, she just burst into hysterical tears. "What?!? If nobody adopts the animals, they KILL them?!?" She was just inconsolable. "People have lives, and nobody kills them- why should they kill animals? I don't want them to kill animals because I love nature and dogs and sobsobsob". I was so upset for her and proud of her at the same time. Y'all, I have never talked to her about this. She is so, so tenderhearted, and these kids have their innocence for such a short time, I just didn't think she needed to know about animal euthanasia or childhood cancers or world poverty or any of that. She'll know soon enough, and I guess I just wanted to protect her heart a bit longer.

I'm not sure I'm right about that, but the point is- I'm so proud of what she has come up with on her own. She is just a genuinely kind person, and she has such character, and I am just blown away by how fantastically wonderful she is. Several other parents have taken the time to tell me that Elena has helped their child when they were hurt or crying or upset. Jonah idolizes her, and those two are serious buddies. She graciously includes him in everything and tries to teach him new words and skills. Basically, she is just the best thing ever the end.

Full disclosure: In the middle of this whole scene, I turned around to check on Elena, and Gabby caught my attention. She rolled her eyes, jerked a thumb in Elena's direction, and said, "Drama queen!", I kid you not. She is a tiny little tough cookie, that one. But that's another story.