Stella

My muse for this blog is a 2 ½ year old girl named Stella. In our weekly playgroup Stella is a constant source for chuckles and entertainment. With her bobbed hair, quirky walk, and sassy attitude, Stella makes it clear to everyone that she knows what she wants and intends to get it. She usually arrives a bit late and always makes an entrance with her head held high. When Stella’s bestie walks into the room the girls immediately get to work playing “big girl” games away from the younger toddlers. She speaks very animatedly and with personal conviction. When we sing “No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed”, Stella enthusiastically shakes her finger and puts her face into an exaggerated frown when we sing the final line (“no more monkeys jumping on the bed”).  Basically, this girl has personality for days and makes no apologies.

This past week Stella came to playgroup and was immediately the center of attention (more so than usual). Her panties were hanging out of her dress, which was in a red/orange/brown striped pattern, and she was wearing lilac high tops (Converse). Nothing about her outfit worked, but her confidence made it clear to everyone that it didn’t matter. Shortly after they arrived her mother told us why Stella was such a mess. Earlier that morning Stella, wearing an outfit picked by her mother, was playing downstairs while her mother was putting away clothes upstairs. When Stella’s mother came downstairs she was surprised to find her daughter face first on the floor, laying in a pool of syrup, and licking it off the floor. Despite the childproof locks to the pantry, Stella broke her way in, climbed to the top, confiscated the syrup, and decided that the most convenient way to eat it was off the floor. I was rolling with laughter, as I imagined the scene in my head. I pictured Stella looking up nonchalantly (with a raised eyebrow) when her mother caught her, as if to say, “What are you looking at?”. Clearly, Stella had ruined her first outfit for the day, so her mother directed her to find something else to wear while she cleaned up the sugary mess. And, thus, we had the story for Stella’s unconventional outfit.

That anecdote solidified my appreciation for Stella.  I wish that we could all be a little like Stella. This girl has endless confidence, a little recklessness, and a lot of gumption. She knows exactly what she wants and makes it known. Stella is an enthusiastic, loyal friend to her playgroup bestie and always finds a way to entertain herself. I hope that she never looses this sassy personality and continues to enjoy life as much as she does now. Stella is exactly the kind of person I always wanted to be….minus the exposed panties.