Page 110 of Teach Me Your Ways

“Mommy?” Sophie asked.

“Yes?”

“I think I want a pirate picture.”

“A pirate?”

“Because we live here so you can find pirate treasure.” Her reasoning was sound. She knew we had moved to South Carolina so I could go to school. When I was trying to sell the move, I told her I wanted to be at this school so I could look for pirate’s treasure.

“Well, let’s see if we can find something pirate-y for your collage,” I said.

We flipped through the magazines together, searching for a pirate image. Sophie’s excitement was contagious, and for a moment, I let myself forget about the mess I’d made of my life. She found a picture of a pirate ship with a skull and crossbones flag. Her eyes lit up as she held it up for me to see.

“This one!” she declared.

“Perfect,” I said, handing her the glue stick. “Where do you want to put it?”

She studied the board carefully, her little brow furrowed in concentration. “Right here,” she said, pointing to the top corner. “So it’s sailing away.”

I smiled as she carefully glued the ship in place. “It looks great.”

She beamed up at me. “Do you think my teacher will like it?”

“I think she’ll love it,” I assured her. “You’re doing an amazing job.”

We continued working on the collage, adding more pictures and decorations until the board was filled with colorful images of things Sophie loved. When we were finally done, she leaned back to admire her work.

“It’s perfect,” she said with a satisfied sigh.

“It really is,” I agreed, ruffling her hair. “You’re so creative.”

“Mommy?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you okay?”

Her question caught me off guard. I thought I was doing a good job of hiding my strain. “Of course I’m okay,” I said quickly, forcing a smile. “Should we sneak some ice cream before dinner?”

She looked around like she was expecting Granny to pop out and bust us. “Okay.”

I winked. “Come on. I need some rocky road.”

I grabbed two spoons from the drawer and made a big show of quietly opening the freezer, pulling out the half-eaten carton of rocky road. Sophie was covering her mouth to cover her giggles. No one was in the house, but the fun of sneaking made it more exciting. I scooped a generous portion into a bowl and handed her a spoon, putting a finger to my lips in a shushing motion. She giggled again.

We tiptoed back to the living room, careful not to make too much noise. I sat cross-legged on the floor, and Sophie plopped down beside me, already digging into the ice cream.

“Mommy, do you think I’ll make lots of friends at school?”

I smiled, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. “Of course you will. You’re so friendly and fun—everyone’s going to want to be your friend.”

She grinned, her spoon pausing mid-air. “What if they don’t like me?”

“That’s not going to happen,” I said firmly. “But even if someone doesn’t like you right away, that’s okay too. You just be yourself, and the right people will love you for who you are.”

She nodded thoughtfully, licking her spoon clean. “I like my teacher.”

“Me too,” I said, taking a bite of ice cream. “You’ll have fun learning new things.”