Olivia

The English family that recently moved in across the street has three young children, one boy and two girls. The youngest of the two girls is an adopted Cambodian girl called Olivia. Olivia makes me laugh.

Every day their mum walks the kids home from school, a few blocks away, in the heart of suburbia. On the days that I see them, Olivia is always doing something that makes me smile. Sometimes she has her shirt and shoes off and is picking flowers along the street before she has reached home. Sometimes she sees something magical and beautiful (usually a pebble) on a driveway and picks it up to pocket it.

The other day I had my dog outside with me when my neighbours were walking home. The elder daughter's eyes doubled in size as she politely asked her mother and I if she could pat my dog, the son seemed equally delighted. Olivia was facinated. She squated down and got really close to my dog's face before poking her in the mouth. My dog, thankfully, is really really tame and just gave me a "can we go now" look before getting up, moving to the grass and doing a poop. Olivia thought this was the best thing ever and yelled out "GroOOooSSSsss" while smiling with delight.

She may annoy my dog, but I like this random child. She is a total free spirit.

k