An extraordinary day with our two little nieces presented us with a few stories. First of all while driving in the SUV, Uncle Darryl piped up and said, we are driving to our house to shovel some snow and the oldest niece who is eight quickly responded, “that’s the opposite of what was planned.” Many laughs were shared while driving to the McNally bookstore. As soon as we reached the top stair of the children’s book section all eyes were on the stuffed animals especially the monkeys. Little voices repeating, “Auntie, these ones are for us but we don’t have enough money.” Time was spent browsing for books and Amelia discovered the graphic novel series. Page after page was turned and they both discovered the titles Sisters and Smile.
With $2.50 in Norah’s coat pocket, she quickly asked if she could buy a present for her mom. The girls noticed the red and green Christmas firecrackers and echoed, that’s the gift for mom. This was a moment of teaching kindness. They were proud of themselves and so was I.
Lunch was on us at Prairie Ink. The girls shared a mini cheese pizza with a bowl of fresh fruit. Eyes were on the dessert showcase and they finally decided eggnog and hazelnut filled macaroons would be decadent. However, the server came by and sold the girls on vanilla ice cream sprinkled with Christmas colours. In the meantime, Amelia read several pages from her new book while Norah and I played a few games of X and O. While heading out of the store both girls reminded me that a gift for dad hadn’t been purchased. The dilemma occurred that Norah needed an extra $1.30 to buy the red firecracker. Auntie couldn’t resist the lesson of kindness.
Our last outing was a drive to Fort Whyte Alive Nature Gift Shop to explore the Christmas gifts. Both girls discovered several tree ornaments. Amelia was most interested in a white Christmas ball and Norah was very determined to have the orange frog. Norah reminded everyone that we were to keep a secret from her mom and dad…the firecrackers have to be wrapped. Secretly, she took the bag to her room and begun the wrapping process.
What a wonderful afternoon of sharing and learning with our nieces.
Uncommon Beauty in Writing 