The Neighbor Girl

Brandon and I bought a house on the Walton's block of Albuquerque. I think we are the only people in a 5 mile radius without a kid. I've had more pressure by neighbors to have a baby in the three weeks we've lived here than the entire five years we've been married. With all the kids and baby's around we were worried that we'd get noise complaints from Brandon's drum playing. The first and only complaint came from Emma, the 6 year old neighbor girl. She saw me in the yard one morning and barged over to me hands on her hips and said "when you play your radio that loud-my baby brother can't sleep!" Her mom came running behind her and clasped her hand over Emma's little mouth just a little too late. I got the distinct feeling that was not the first time she'd tried to block the floodgate. "No, no-it's fine, the music doesn't bother us."

I've only known Emma briefly, yet I could write all night about her ability to say the first thing that comes to her mind and her unapologetic attitude. Like the time she told me "thanks for having me over-I know I'll always be welcome." or the time asked for candy and told me her mom wouldn't mind only to tell me a few moments later with a mouth full of candy-"Don't tell my mom or we'll BOTH be in trouble."

Perhaps the funniest story about Emma so far happened yesterday when we pulled up to our house to find Emma sitting in a miniature lawn chair, legs crossed, palms facing the sky, thumb and forefinger in the shape of an "O", eyes closed and chanting-with a soccer trophy in her lap.

Brandon slowly pulled up to the curb, rolled down the window and waited to see how long it would take her to notice us. He finally gives up and interrupting her concentration says "Hi Emma, what are you doing?" she irritably replies "Oh, hi Brandon-I'm Me-di-ta-ting, can't you tell?" "We just lost our soccer game but we got a trophy anyway and I'm upset and I'm nervous because Lily is coming over for a play date and she's never been over before and I'm nervous because I don't know how it's going to go because she's never been over before so I'm
Me-di-ta-ting, okay?"

Just when you thought kids don't have problems.