Mary.

Ok, so those of you who read this know that Avery loved playing with Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus in our nativity. She pushed them in strollers, brought them on errands, pushed them down her slide and jumped with them on her trampoline. She even put her beloved "green blanket" over her head numerous times and said, "I'm Mary."



I was worried about the goodbye when the new year rolled around, but she seemed ok. She has asked for them a couple of times and I just explained that Christmas time is over, so we had to put those decorations away.

Well, "Mary" made an appearance at the grocery store today. We were walking in the produce department and I hear Avery saying something about Mary. She said it again, "Mommy, I see Mary." I respond with, "Yes, honey" only half paying attention. "Mommy, there's Mary. I see her." Finally, I look over to my left and there she was, walking towards us ... a middle eastern woman wearing a head scarf.

I smiled really big at the woman as I responded to Avery, "Yes, honey. I see her. Now, let's pick out some avocados together. Be mommy's big helper."

Oh, how I love the innocence of a child!