Olive

 When I think of Olive, it just makes me smile.  She brings a fun, lighthearted energy to our home that is a breath of fresh air.  She has a free spirit that allows her to flow in a creative and imaginative world and it's beautiful to watch.  She is quick to giggle, quick to forgive, spontaneous and care free.  She is full of emotions and I have loved watching her mature in those and to learn herself and her feelings and how she wants to manage them.  She really is unique and so in tune with herself, and socially with others around her.  She is a magnet for family and friends alike because she has such positive and fun energy.  She has a sparkle in her eye that is contagious.

She is our most social child and loves to be with friends, but she is also aware and in tune with herself enough to know when she needs some alone time to recharge.  I love watching her in those moments of solitude, the whole time still imagining and creating in her own world. She always has something good going on in her imagination, and lately she is a warrior and fighting off the bad guys.

Of all the family, this COVID quarantine has been the hardest on Olive socially.  She really misses her friends and playdates, and seeing her classmates at school.  I often find letters on her desk or in her room like these below "I mis my fress. My fress are the bess. I wat tu see them. Thae are my BFF's. Love, Love"

Another one "Dere Elle. You are the best. I mis you a lot BFF. I loved what we yousd (used) du tugethr. I wat to see you soon. Love Olivia"

This long brown poster paper was one huge invitation for friends showing all the things they would be able to do together next time they played - swimming, jumping, bikes, dolls, and many more ideas.

Sometimes she just needs to be sad and she lets us snuggle her through it most times.

Every night at bedtime she prays for COVID to go away so people can be healthy and things can go back to normal.  She was having an emotional and sad day the other day, missing her friends and she said, "That's it! Why am I the only one around here who prays for this to go away? Doesn't anyone else want this quarantine to end so they can see all their friends?!"  I know this has been hard on our social  butterfly.  Fortunately, our bubble is expanding and I'm seeing her love tank from friends start to refill again.  

Another side of Olive that has been so precious to watch is her interest in managing her emotions and hard or frustrated feelings by trying to meditate.  I will just find her in a pose like this somewhere and I try to be so careful not to interrupt her, or let her know I'm watching or taking a picture.  I just love it so much.  It makes my heart fill with so much love for her and I just want to go scoop her up and hug her.  She really is so darn precious.

More meditating in the pool chair.

Though it has been hardest on her socially, she is also having a ton of fun.  She is living her best life in the sense that her schedule is free and her spirit can be free to imagine and create all day without school, church, or all the other things that dictate a schedule for her.  Heck, she is even playing herself to sleep in the most random places sometimes.

She loves deeply and likes to show it through her artwork.

She loves to be silly and make others laugh.

She's goofy and lighthearted and can make everyone feel carefree.

She also wears the cutest things that make me smile.

I have loved this time where the pressure of life is off and I can be fully present to live in Olive's world with her more deeply.  It's a beautiful place. I love everything about you Olive.