in the play yard

This morning I went to my son's nursery class today to celebrate his birthday.  I sat next to him at the table and we ate soup and crackers and sang songs.  I actually sat between him and a little girl who is friends with him.  She immediately started talking to me and wouldn't stop.  When we went outside into the play yard, she would not let go of my hand.  Ok, she let go, but she wouldn't leave my side.  I ended up not really even spending much time with my son because this little girl was like ATTACHED to me.  We made a sandcastle.  We played with acorns.  One of the teachers took her hand to form a line to walk into the garden and she looked back at me with a sad look on her face, like "where did you go, come here."  A minute later she was holding my hand and we were walking through the garden.  When we got back into the yard, we ended up in the sandbox and then I found myself surrounded by three girls (!) all of whom were trying to get and hold my attention.  When it was time to leave, the teacher actually had to ask me if I could specifically say goodbye to the one main girl--she was waiting for me.
The nature of her attachment made such a strong impression on me.  It was like a mirror.

Having and being around young children is such a reflective experience.  I see myself in them in ways that I couldn't otherwise.  I imagine my attachments as a young child, how strong they must have been, wanting for a mother who really 'got' me.  It was a bit overwhelming to be the object of such today; I don't really know how I feel about it, I just am aware that there was a big impression on my being.
I felt from her loss, and sadness, and an innocent hopefulness to connect.

My daughter had a new friend come over our house yesterday after school; she had never been here, nor had been around me other than pick-up from school.  My daughter told me this morning that her friend had said "your mom is so cool! she's so young, and fun, and pretty..."   Because of my relatively young age when I had my first two kids, I'm almost always the youngest parent within the group of my daughter's friends. Her friend's comment is one that I've gotten kind of used to hearing, considering I'm usually between 10-15 years younger than most of the other parents, so I'm sure I seem younger, and maybe more fun?...its funny, though, when I think about it...I don't think any of my kids would characterize me in those ways.