Love. Genuine Love.

Amelia and Griffin joined me at church yesterday. After the service was over, as Dana and Amelia returned from the “very nice bathroom” at the church (quote from Amelia), Amelia was flooded by greetings from people she didn’t know but who knew her through my writing and posts. She was told by more than one person just how much her aunt loved her…which caused her to grin from ear to ear…though she hid shyly behind her mom’s leg.

Amelia loves “The Wizard of Oz.” She was Dorothy two years ago for Halloween—complete with Toto—and she forced me to dress in character as well (I was a yellow brick from the yellow brick road). Naturally, I decided to give her a ticket to see the “Wizard of Oz” at the DPAC. She dressed as Dorothy to attend the show—complete with ruby red slippers—and she sat proudly in her seat for the whole show—mesmerized.

Before the show, I noticed Amelia looking through her playbill with focused intensity. If you’ve ever seen a playbill, then you know that it’s not the most kindergarten-friendly piece of literature. So I bought her a souvenir program. If you’ve ever paid for a souvenir program, then you know that it is a kindergarten-friendly piece of literature. Instead of lots of tiny black-and-white words about people, it’s full of colored-photo scenes from the show and simple phrases from the songs.

As soon as I handed Amelia her fancy program, she put down her playbill and began turning the new, shiny pages. We “read” the program together until the lights dimmed and the show started, then we “read” to the point where intermission left us, then she read the rest of the program in the backseat of the car before falling fast asleep. Quite simply, those were some of the best $15 dollars I’ve ever spent.

After the show, some of the actors were in the lobby taking up money for charity. While Dana and I excitedly pointed out each character, Amelia was star-struck and mute. Remember: She was dressed as Dorothy, so she, herself, was drawing a lot of attention. She was very kind and said “thank you” when people told her she looked beautiful, yet she didn’t want to meet any of the characters for the perfect photo-op. Thankfully, however, the tin woodsman wanted to meet her, so before we knew it, Amelia and I were posing for a photo with the human form of the character she had declared her favorite: The Tin Man.

When asked why The Tin Man was her favorite character, Amelia said, “I like the Tin Man because nothing bad happened to him. He was just missing his heart.”

I have absolutely no idea what that answer means, but it makes perfect sense to Amelia’s six-year-old brain—and so that answer stands.

The next day, I wrote my sister: “Good morning. How’s our little Dorothy?”
She said, “ Perky and ready for a bike ride. How about you?”
“I’m good,” I said. “Has she mentioned the show?”
“Yes,” responded Dana. “She talked about the DPAC. She says she’s been thinking about the cowardly lion, too.”
“She’s thinking about him?!”
“That’s what she said :-).”
“Hmm. I wonder what she’s thinking. I’m curious to hear :-)”.

But I’ve never heard.

When I saw her yesterday, Amelia didn’t say anything about the Cowardly Lion, or the Tin Man, or the DPAC, or the souvenir program.

Yet she grinned when people told her I loved her and she lay her head against my stomach in a sweet gesture of love during the blessing and she held on tight as I carried her to the car to say good night.

So I’m pretty sure she understands the point of it all: Love. Genuine Love. Home. Heart. Helping. Soul. Giving. Mind. Brain. Cross. Strength. Courage. Journey. The Yellow Brick Road. Oz.

Love. Genuine Love.

Amen.