March 14 – “The song”

It was time to leave the library.  The snake exhibition had long since ended.  The allure of the large lizard that lives in the children’s section had passed.  Books to take home had been collected, checked out, and properly deposited in Mom’s large satchel.  Mom and Nana and four brothers were lining up near the door to head for the car.  But where was Noa?

No, there wasn’t a frantic search throughout the aisles of books, although that would have been kind of fun – a real adventure.  But in this case Noa wasn’t lost.  In fact she hadn’t moved from the spot she had deposited herself about twenty minutes before … in front of one of the library children’s program computers.  For a while there had been three little girls occupying that space, but gradually the number dwindled until Noa had the screen to herself.  And now she was totally engrossed in a particularly interesting program.  She was baking virtual cookies. 

I was the first to arrive on scene, so I made the formal announcement that it was time to depart.  Apparently my pronouncement didn’t sound too convincing, however.  She continued.  Break an egg into the bowl.  Break another egg into the bowl.  Break a third egg into the bowl.  I have to admit, by this time I was as mesmerized as she was.  Flour.  Oil.  Vanilla.  It was all there.  Time to stir it up, and the curser became a mixer.  Miraculously, the mixed up ingredients became batter for the cookies.  Now, all the while Noa is happily humming a tune, totally oblivious to the world around her.  A click on the mouse and choices of cookie cutters popped up.  She chose the squirrel.  I expected her to make a whole batch of squirrel cookies.  I was, by this time getting hungry.  But not Noa.  She chose to make one huge squirrel cookie.  More humming as she moved the cookie batter squirrel into the virtual oven.  I was fascinated.  And in mere seconds out popped a cookie squirrel. 

But the chef was not done yet.  She immediately switched into icing mode.  Now who am I to stop icing mode?  You gotta have icing.  She spread a layer of white icing all over the cookie, humming along.  Next she switched to a tube of decorative icing - red, of course.  And she started placing polka-dots all over the squirrel.  At least that’s what I would have called them had I not been listening to the song coming from her sweet, innocent little lips.  What was she singing?  “The squirrel has the plague.  The squirrel has the plague.”  Well, OK.  I think it’s time to go now, Noa.

Psalms 37:16-17 says, “Better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked; for the power of the wicked will be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous.”

Father, thank you for Noa’s love of books and computers.  Oh, and snakes.  Have to include snakes since she wants one for Christmas now.  Amen.