We had the most wonderful day with them. The four of them were camping on Mount Desert Island (where Bar Harbor is) for two whole weeks! Becca, heading into her junior year of college, has been our babysitter since Ella was 15 months old and her sister, Annie, a junior in high school, came perfectly up the ranks. Our girls simply flourish in Becca and Annie's presence. Ironically, Becca was a whole lot like Ella when she was young and Annie very much like Maya, apparently with the dynamic between the sisters being similar as well. All I can say is that they are clearly kindred spirits to each of the girls.
(Sadly, I did not have my camera on this day, but here is a feel of the kind of joy the girls feel in the presence of the Hawkins' girls. I do believe Becca and Annie had everything to do with them finding themselves in this hammock laughing their heads off.)
While Becca and Ella were combing the beach for sea shells, Ella told Becca she was getting ready to take her earrings out and that she would be getting new ones. "But probably just one pair," she informed Becca, "because we aren't made of money you know."
We went to Sand Beach (one of my top 10 favorite locales) and then to have an idyllic supper at the Jordan Pond House overlooking Jordon Pond and the mountains. We ate homemade popovers on the lawn and I felt the only thing missing was an oppressively tight ribbon tied under my bust and a skinny cigarette hanging from my lips to be squarely in 1930.
As we were eating this classy meal of crab cakes, seafood stuffed haddock, lobster chowder and the like, Maya started to get a little wild. Some sort of flowering tree just above us had literally thousands of bumble bees buzzing in its midst and Maya kept taking my head and jerking it upward to see this amazing sight.
Soon she had her hands down her pants and I found myself saying the things that only a parent of young, wild children say (other statements from this category include "Maya, the dog does NOT want her toe nails painted!"). I said, "Maya, please take your hand out of your shorts!" which was a wide open invitation, I now realize, for her to take her entertaining to a whole new level.
Allow me to insert here that when we eat with people, unless she is absolutely starving, Maya doesn't eat much. Her main goal is to make everyone at the table laugh. She turns up her favorite foods in favor of one good guffaw. So the next thing I see is her little, squishy hand pop out of the pant leg of her short shorts and start waving to everyone saying in a cartoon-like voice, "HELLO EVERYBODY!"
Why I dare to take her out in public I do not know.
As if just spending the day with the Hawkins on beautiful Mount Desert Island wasn't enough, they showed us such generosity, surprising me with a year pass to Acadia National Park and treating us all to dinner. You simply don't get better people than these. To count them as friends is a treasure.
Some other recent silliness from Maya:
Maya believes that we have bikinis growing in the garden. I wonder if bikini bread will taste as good as zucchini bread.
She is obsessed with bugs and when she finds them not moving she says, "that one got dead."
Maya's expressions:
"Oh. A my. A goodness."
"Theresiously?" (she has the cutest little lisp.)
"No matter." (when she wants to convey that it isn't a big deal.)
And my favorites:
"Momma, you are the best in the whole world. And Mommy too, right?"
"You are my best girl."
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