Angie Hudnall and her “busy baby girl,” Sidney.
**This piece was submitted as part of our Community Contributor pilot project in collaboration with the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University.
By Angie Hudnall / OC Monitor Community Contributor
Our Baby Girl was never one for sitting still. You had to just grab her as she would run past you giggling. That was the only way to get your hug from this little lassie. Grab, Squeeze, Kiss and Release. Lol, I kept telling myself I needed to buy one of those kid leashes, but thankfully I never followed through. It might have broken her spirit.
You can see in our photo I have my arms wrapped around her. Dear Hubby had put together a Halloween hay ride and she wanted to be running from one end to another between family members. I had to catch her and hold her good. She was such a stinker! She had so much fun that night. She was in the middle of every hay fight! We picked straw from her hair forever.
She was always so busy doing things. It didn’t matter what or where, she would find something to do. So inquisitive, wondering what everything was. Her pockets was always full of rocks, sticks and other treasures she would find.
She was the one we could count on being excited for anything we brought up, even if it was a chore. She could get her brothers excited by just her reaction. Her little eyes would light up like Christmas, throw her arms up and jump in.
You want to help Mommy sweep the floor? YES! You want to help Daddy break beans? YES! Ready for whatever.
She was also the one you had to keep one eye on all the time for getting into stuff. She was one of those kids who if they were quiet, you’d better go looking for’em.
I was in the kitchen doing something, when I thought, oh no, I haven’t seen her come through or heard her in a few minutes. What is she doing?
I rush to her bedroom..
There she was, in the middle of this huge amount of these tiny white balls… all over her bed… the furniture… the floor… like static cling… covered her beautiful long blonde hair… and these tiny dots of white attached all over her clothes.
I watched her as I tried to figure out what in the world I am seeing. She would throw the balls up in the air… over herself.. over… and… over.
They were literally everywhere! Where in the world did she get this. I was speechless. I am sure as I was standing there in the opening of her bedroom, I had my mouth wide open and my eyes bewildered because I could not compute!
She turns and sees me… grabs her little arms full of the white stuff… throws them up high in the air…. and exclaims….
Snow! Mommy! Snow!!
……. My mind rushed back to reality and I had to laugh.
How can you get mad at that?
I called for her Daddy and we figured out she had broken open one of those real soft pillows with the little white pellets in it.
We did not replace it.
We loved on her and cleaned it up. You know we still find those little white pellets so many years after. Every time I see a little white ball I think back to her little face telling me it was snow. Good Times.
Angie Hudnall
Angie Hudnall lives in Cromwell, Ky., and is a health improvement nurse for Perdue Farms. She has been a registered nurse for 18 years in long-term care, physical rehab, mental health, substance abuse treatment, and home health.
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