So yesterday, Lily went to VBS without me. In my childhood, unless my mother was my VBS teacher--which was more often than not, VBS was something I did without her. So when we just happened to be in town for VBS at my parents' church, I thought it would be no problem for Lily to just go without me--she genuinely does do things without me frequently.
I went to pick Lily up at the end of the day and Miss Sheila, a family friend who offered to keep an eye on her for me, said, "Well. I don't know if Lily enjoyed VBS, but I know we all enjoyed having Lily." I didn't know what that meant, exactly, but I thanked her for taking care of Lily and we went home.
I was certain Lily had learned SOMETHING, as she came home singing The Shark Song and Jesus Loves Me...in Swahili.
This morning at church, I heard the following "accounts" of Lily's adventures:
Bette: I did a bad thing. Lily asked me where you were and I just flippantly said you left. Lily told me, "Oh no! My mama would NEVER leave me!" Then she started to cry. Sheila came over and fixed it, but she was just so insistent in her belief that you were obviously still here.
Gail: Emerald, your daughter is hilarious! In our class about missionaries, [my husband] Daryl was describing being a sailor. Lily was listening intently and I could tell she was really paying attention and taking things in. Then she leans over and whispers to me, "pirates are sailors. But pirates don't brush their teeth so their teeth turn green as frogs." Then she started studying Daryl again.
(Side note: when I asked her where they were sailing to Lily told me she didn't know because she was too busy listening)
Amy: Emerald, your daughter is hilarious! She's so decisive and opinionated! I thought she was just like you, but she's not! She's JUST like Grand-Da! She expresses her opinion then argues with you until you agree or give in. Where you know when to quit, she pushes just like him!
Sheila: Emerald, your daughter is hilarious! The kids were playing tag after lunch, but of course little kids don't have rules--they just run around all crazy until they get tired. At one point, Lily comes over to me and sits down in my lap--which has NEVER happened in the time that I've known her. She says, "Running takes energy. I am out of energy. I need to sit here and recharge." Which she did for the next few minutes. Then she told me she was all charged up and ran off to play tag again.
Anna: Emerald, your daughter is hilarious!
Emerald: I'm noticing a theme here.
Anna: At our station, the kids were supposed to color a "child of the world." Lily told me she didn't color, but that she wanted me to do it and do it a certain way. She was very explicit with where she asked me to color what and how she wanted me to do it. I decided it would be best if I just followed her orders.
Apparently, each person Lily met following that initial realization that I was gone was also grilled for information about my whereabouts. After answering, they all said she stared at them, as if deciding whether to believe them or not.
I guess next time, I'm attending VBS.
