My 3 year old had her first sleep-over after we agreed to watch another little girl, the daughter of friends, for the evening. It was tricky putting the girls down for bed, we decided to pull out the blow-up and let them sleep together. Both girls had some difficulty adjusting to having someone else there with them. But I learned something about my Hope...
When her friend was having a rough time missing her own parents, I overheard Hope consoling her. As I peeked through the crack in the door, her friend asked to hold her hand. Hope obliged and also gave her a big hug promising to be her best friend forever. She got up and brought her cup of water from the nearby table and spoke cute and comforting words. When all attempts failed to cure her friend of a few tears, Hope suddenly broke into "Where's that pretty smile? Where's that pretty smile? where's that pretty smile that makes me so happy?" (which oddly is not something we really never use on Hope).
I couldn't help but chuckle to myself. Eventually they both got to sleep and looked so very cute there together. While my young daughter still requires much nurturing herself, it was pleasant to see her experience empathy and turn right around and share some comfort with another person.
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