Worth a Thousand Words

In my college Honors Humanities course, I had to do some art interpretation.

I remember, as a child and young adult, listening to museum docents talk about works of art, describing them in ways such as, "And you see how the red in the upper corner draws your eye up and away from the subject, and the bright yellow produces a feeling of hope and peace" or "The artist chose to use broad brush strokes, evoking a sense of freedom yet restlessness."

So, when the time came for me to do this in my college course, I was somewhat intimidated but soon found it enjoyable. Because, as I came to realize, there wasn't necessarily a "right" or "wrong" answer. After all, it was interpretation.

My fellow classmates and I would sit in the darkened theater classroom, looking at hundreds of slides, listening to the teacher talk about the use of color, light and shadow, among a number of other things I can't at the moment recall.

There were always those paintings that I wish I could have stared at longer--those paintings that brought a smile to my face or an unexplained peace to my soul. Those paintings that just stirred something inside of me.

This picture of Hannah and Carly is a bit like that for me. I find myself wanting to stare at it, memorizing every detail. I want to mentally catalog everything about them, their personalities, their quirks--the things that make them who they are. Here are a few thoughts as I look at this picture:

1. The smile on Hannah's face is her signature--she offers that smile regardless of the circumstance, whether or not she is playing or just sitting. And, her smile is one that really invites someone to smile back. Without fail, Hannah's smiles can make my gray days brighter in an instant. I love that about her--which brings me to #2

2. Hannah is a joyful baby.
Like #1 said, she is smiling at just about anything. What strikes me the most is how joyful she is especially considering everything she has endured. What an example to me. To see my child take things in stride, to see how her sweet spirit is not broken but bolstered by her trials.

Her full name is Hannah Jane, but a few people initially thought her name was Hannah Joy. One of our sweet friends sent a baby blanket that she had embroidered. She realized before she sent it that it said Hannah Joy, and she almost ripped out the stitches to fix it. When I found out, I told her, "Absolutely not! Leave it the way it is. We'll have a fun story to tell Hannah when she's older." Well, when we received the blanket, it said Hannah Joy but between the two names there was an insert notation and it had the words "is a" -- that blanket is the dearest one we have for Hannah. Hannah is a Joy. Plain and simple.

3. Those eyelashes and dimples on Hannah.
What is it about dimples? They just make me want to pinch her little rosy cheeks even more. And the eyelashes. People have commented on them over the months, but the comment I will always remember came from one of the surgical nurses before Hannah's heart surgery. As they were wheeling her back to surgery, we were walking alongside, and the nurse exclaimed, "Look at those eyelashes--look how long they are! She won't have to wear mascara when she's older!"

4. Carly's tilted head, patiently smiling for the camera, humoring Mommy as she takes ANOTHER picture.
Sounds odd to describe a 3-year-old as patient, but the past 16 months I would say Carly has been more than patient with us--grace-giving. From all the doctor's appointments, extra attention and care that Hannah has received and the time that J and I have been away from home, Carly has trekked through it all, maintaining her abundance of energy and happiness.

5. Carly's forever buddy, Puppy Dog.
That dog has been more places--on multiple airplanes, stuffed in bags, crammed in grocery carts, lovingly tucked under an arm in a headlock, snuggled under the covers. . .

6. Carly's pushed-up sleeves.
I don't know how it started, but Carly pushes up long sleeves to her elbows. I think it may have something to do with the fact that she doesn't like getting the ends of her sleeves wet when hand-washing, but she chooses to push those sleeves up from the moment she gets dressed until she gets her jammies on. And, sleeves on jammies are pushed up, too.

7. Carly's sweet, sisterly way towards Hannah.
I would venture to say that 99% of the time, Carly is loving and kind towards Hannah. She wakes up wanting to know where Hannah is, takes an interest in what and when she is eating, wants her to come sit and "play" with her and includes her in our family conversations.

8. I love that nothing makes Hannah smile bigger or more genuinely than Carly.
One of my favorite scenes is watching Carly kiss Hannah on the top of her head. I'm not sure what touches me more--seeing how gentle Carly is toward her sister or seeing Hannah's whole face smile. Even when Carly takes a toy away from her sister, Hannah offers a big grin.

9. I wonder what their personalities will be like as they grow up. . .Right now, Carly is a fun-loving, sensitive 3-year-old. If someone is hurting or crying, she is concerned and wants to help. Talking is her forte---whether she's talking to me, J, another adult, her animals or dolls, it's basically non-stop as long as she's awake.
Obviously, as Hannah gets older, her personality will emerge even more. Right now, though, I can see that she's a laid-back little gal who is easily entertained. She likes to be a part of what's going on around her, and "talking" is high on her list of "things I like to do."

10. Finally, on a somewhat lighter, more trivial note--as I gaze at this picture, one last thing comes to mind. Hannah's hair has grown out enough so she no longer has the Ed Grimley look-alike style. (If you don't recognize the name Ed Grimley, just trust me when I say this is a good thing.)

I love you girls!