I’ve spent the past hour texting with Sadie while she was waiting for Hunter to finish up with Gordie and the vet. The good news is, Hunter was right in suspecting a UTI, and now that they’ve identified the problem they can get Gordie some meds that should clear it right up.
Sadie
Thanks for keeping me company. I’ve never had so much fun in a waiting room before.
The smile I wear is a permanent fixture these days where Sadie is involved. I read her text one more time and notice the time in the top corner of my phone.
“Shit.” It’s already two thirty and Sophia is still sleeping like an angel. I told Sadie she rarely naps so I’m not sure what tonight will look like if I let her sleep much longer. Her nightmares are occurring less and less and I’m sure one solid nap won’t mess her up too bad. I’ll let her sleep just a bit longer.
After another fifteen minutes, I slowly make my way up the stairs to wake Sophia. When I crack the door to her room open, I see her sleeping peacefully in her bed.
No one prepares you for the type of love you feel whenyou become a parent. Suddenly, everything you thought you loved before seems so inadequate in comparison. There’s nothing in this world that brings me as much joy as my daughter. Hockey is the only other real love I’ve ever known, and even that doesn’t even come close to the overwhelming, all-consuming love and pride I feel for Sophia.
Just as the mom does in Sophia’s favorite book,Love You Forever,I sneak across her floor to where she’s asleep. She stirs a bit when I lift her in my arms, but I take a moment to cradle her like I used to do every night for the first year of her life. I didn’t notice it before, but Sophia is cradling something of her own. It’s a stuffed animal I’ve never seen before. It’s crocheted and purple, but she’s holding it so tight to her chest, I can’t see what type of animal it is.
I lean down and give her a soft kiss on the forehead. She slowly opens her eyes.
“Hi, Daddy.” She nuzzles into me and I squeeze her, needing to pour all of the love I’m feeling into her.
“Hey, baby girl. What do you have there?” I readjust her so she’s sitting up now, her head still leaning on my shoulder as she cradles her crocheted stuffie.
At my question, she holds up the animal in front of my face and pops up off my shoulder. I can see that it’s clearly a crocheted goat, and there’s no doubt in my mind where she got that from.
“This is Charles! He’s my new favorite stuffie. Miss Sadie gave him to me.”
Of course she did, because that’s Sadie. She might be the most thoughtful person I’ve ever met.
I match my daughter’s excitement and marvel at her new toy. “Wow! That is the coolest stuffie ever.”
Sophia nods once, like I’m not telling her anything she doesn’t already know.
“I know he is. Miss Sadie said if I ever feel scared at night, hold Charles tight because he has a magic necklace.”She shoves Charles in my face and bonks me in the nose. “See!”
Gently, I move Sophia’s arm and the goat down away from my face so I can see what she’s talking about. There’s a purple stone hanging from a fabric necklace that’s sewn onto the goat so it won’t break off. I have no idea what type of stone it is, but it’s beautiful. The fact that it’s my daughter’s favorite color and the color of the hair I imagine running my fingers through is just an added bonus.
“That’s really pretty. Miss Sadie must really care about you to give you such a great gift.”
Sophia jumps off my lap and makes her way to the shelf along her wall that holds her Frozen castle and dolls. “I really like her, Daddy. She makes me feel happy and safe. She’s the best nanny in the whole wide world.”
My heart squeezes at my daughter’s words but she has no clue the effect they have on me because she grabs Elsa and Anna and begins playing with them.
For the next few minutes I sit on Sophia’s bed, watching her play while I go over the events of the day. Looking down at the cute goat, I absentmindedly begin playing with the charm that hangs under its neck.
Sadie is almost always doing things for other people. Every time I see her at the rink, she’s either helping out one of the guys on the team or someone on staff. She’s put plants in each of the coach’s offices, claiming they improve the energy in the room. God knows, grumpy Lincoln could use all the help he could get. And just last week, I even saw her doing a meditation session with the Zamboni driver.
She’s already bought Sophia and me things to help improve our sleep. She’s taking care of my daughter so I can focus on my injury recovery and not burden my parents. And now she’s gifted something to my daughter that is so incredibly special, I feel my chest tightening as emotion overcomes me.
And then I’m reminded of her reaction to the gifts Ibrought home for her today. When Sadie was adamant about not being paid for watching Sophia, I knew I had to dosomethingto show my appreciation. I still plan on discussing that with her, because there’s no way she won’t be paid for keeping my daughter safe, but for now I just wanted to do something nice for the person who has already done so much for me.
Sadie was speechless and crying when I gave her the simple gifts I picked up from the market today. Anyone who has ever spent any type of time with Sadie should know that gifting is her love language. But she said no one has ever gotten her a gift like that before. How is that even possible?
Anger rises up in me at the realization. The thought of no one cherishing her for how special she is makes my blood boil. The sage, the salt lamp, the lavender…that’s the bare fucking minimum that Sadie deserves.
“I’ll be right back, Sophia.”
She ignores me and continues playing with her dolls. I hobble down the steps with my crutch and into the living room where my phone sits on the coffee table. Pulling up the text thread with Sadie, I type out a message. Reading it over once. Twice. I finally hit send.
Sophia just showed me the goat you got for her. You’re not such a bad gift giver yourself, Miss Sadie. Will you join us for dinner tonight to celebrate the world’s best nanny? Those are Sophia’s words, but I happen to agree with them. Please?
