Warning: I’m going to tear apart every single minute of the roughly two and a half hours that I spent with my daughter and her Mom….so this is likely going to be a weeklong series of posts about the visit.

Oh, and this post will be just words, but the rest will probably include pictures, and some – wait for it – VIDEOS!!! So, if you don’t have the password, or forgot it, and want to see, please just email – thanksgivingmom@hotmail.com

If I don’t “know” who you are, just let me know!

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Before getting into the nitty gritty – it needs to be said: The visit – was- amazing.

The visit was scheduled to begin at 2:00 so I left at 12:30. According to mapquest the visit site was 37 minutes away – so I thought I was leaving myself AMPLE time. As I sat on the 405 I realized I was in Los Angeles, where Mapquest means nothing. So as I approached the park at 1:54 I let out a huge sigh of relief that I allowed myself that hour and a half, and a huger (more huge?) sigh that I wasn’t driving from even further away as I had planned earlier in the week.

I drove, looking for a place to park, when I saw a woman standing next to her car, pulling out toys, a big wheel, and a giant bag. Dee.

I quickly made a u-turn, parked my car, and approached her.

We exchanged our hellos and she reached into her car to pull out this little (huge?) blonde angel. I scanned her quickly, catching her whispy blond hair, her enchanting brown eyes, her tanned skin, and at the very bottom, her Cupcake sandals. She sat on the trunk of the car as Dee put on another layer of sunscreen while being a tiny bit shy. Then she saw my necklace – “CUPCAKE!!!!” Then she was much more open to reaquainting herself to this biannual playdate.

Dee went on to explain how she LOVES Cupcakes. She pointed to her shoes, she mentioned again the cupcakes she had at her birthday, and I decided that I would explain my “connection” to cupcakes. I told her how funny that was, how special, as my nickname for our daughter is Cupcake. She looked confused – almost as if to ask, “Why would you have a nickname for her?” I explained that in Cyberland I want to honor everyone’s anonymity, her’s, Cupcake’s, my own (!) and as such I don’t use any of our real names. That ages ago I decided to call Cupcake, Cupcake. That shortly after that I purchased the necklace I was wearing that day – that it symbolizes Cupcake.

Dee was touched. She understood it with the spirit in which it was intended, something that hasn’t always come across…..(I won’t link to those posts, as this one is about the joyeous visit, but if you are a new reader and are curious, you can let me know and I can help get you there).

Ready to get the visit really started, Cupcake hopped on her Dora the Explorer Big Wheels and rode off toward the park. We parked our gear and she was off and running. We slid on slides, swang on swings, and splashed in water. After about half an hour of play between the three of us, Dee announced her exit.

!

She said, “If it’s okay with you, I’m going to go to my car and grab my magazines and let you two just play together for a while.”

Uh – IF IT’S OKAY WITH ME?????

“Oh, absolutely!”

So Cupcake and I played. I immediately felt more relaxed, more calm, more comfortable. I can’t explain why – Dee, did NOTHING to make me feel on edge, stressed, or uncomfortable, it’s just one of those things. We splashed some more, we went back to the swings, we played in the sand. Between activities, Cupcake often wanted to go back and tell her Mom what she had just accomplished, and then she would grab me and run back to play.

Which is how we ended up at one of those tall poles that you can slide down. Of course, at 2 1/2 Cupcake isn’t quite at the point of launching herself of the platform and sliding down alone! But she was more than happy to swing around the bottom of the pole.

Which is how my daughter ended up “pole dancing” with Punky Brewster.

Or, at least with her daughters.

No joke. Punky Brewster (well, I suppose she’d prefer her real name, but I like Punky Brewster ) was at the park with her husband and two daughters, the older of which took turns playing on the pole with Cupcake. We would help the kids “climb” as high on the pole as we could reach, and then they would “slide” down. Cupcake played really well with Punky’s daughter, and I just though – how surreal is this? I’m making pole dancing jokes with Punky Brewster about our daughters while I’m on a visit with my daughter and her Mom as part of our open adoption. I mean, how many people can say THAT???? (I’m going to guess: not that many!)

We played in the sand, we bounced a ball, we made little friends – it was amazing.

There are so many “perfect” moments, that this post could easily become thousands and thousands of words in the blink of an eye…..so rather than completely overwhelm everyone in one post, I’ll space them out…..

But here’s what you should know, as part of any good overview.

Cupcake is amazing. She has a phenomenal vocabulary, is very articulate, and sometimes has the tiniest, and more adorable, of lisps.

She’s a daredevil (though her Mom prefers the term “adventurous”). She’ll climb anything, dangle with no hands, and will run much farther from the adults than many 2 year olds would be willing to venture.

She’s a cuddler. As comfortable as she is swinging from bars, she’s just as natural standing next to me, holding my leg, or sitting on my lap, or nuzzling up next to me.

She’s fiercely independent. She likes to do everything on her own, from drinking from a water bottle to putting on her shoes, to peeling an orange. If she can do it, she will. And if she can’t? Well, she’s going to take a LOT of time trying before she accepts any limitation.

She’s incredibly helpful. If another child needs help doing something, she’s the first to offer. If we’re putting something away, carrying something, picking something up – she’s right there to help out.

These qualities in her were all reinforced through stories Dee told me……wonderful stories of Cupcake at school, on playdates, at home – you name it.

She’s an amazing little girl. And I’m so incredibly happy that I get to be witness to that.

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As promised, I’ve got MUCH more to share and talk about – and I promise I will just as soon as I’ve got my mind wrapped around it. I just figured I couldn’t leave everyone without an update for too long! I know how fussy y’all can get