derby day

For years Derby Day has been associated with sawdust, shiny paint, speedy looking stickers and just the right weight...

pinewood derby, 2006

but this year is for the girls. Fancy, and fun...and a beautiful celebration.   A dress and flowers and  just the right hat.

Laura has been volunteering with horses and kids for over five years. I think she may have fallen in love even before she worked her first day, but each Saturday morning, she fell deeper and deeper. Her smile outweighs a grumble over a stepped-on toe, and she kicks the dirt out of her boots before she heads for home. She laughs over a story from one small heart or another, and her eyes shine with love. She reports someone's accomplishment, mighty or small, and I can just see her own pre-motherly heart starting to bloom. It has been a wonder to watch her, so bravely and beautifully tending to these that need just a little more.

And while a Mama knows what she knows... she doesn't fully know until she hears the praises from the ones who work beside her. Who train her. Who need her. Who look into my eyes and tell me that she is wonderful and appreciated and sweet and kind.

So we celebrated her, along with Char... who introduced her to the program in the first place.

And if there is anything better than celebrating your girl, it is celebrating two girls.

The one who is my heart, and the one who might as well be.