My daughter was only five years old, and she was infatuated with my sister.
Whenever Mary showed up, Jill couldn’t take her eyes off her.
She had to sit in her lap the entire time she was there, and she would just stare at her. She loved Mary and would have stayed with her forever if I left her. Mary recently moved to another state, and Jill was missing her. When the HVAC technician arrived, it surprised me to see it was a woman, but Jill was excited. The HVAC technician looked a lot like my sister, and she even had a small nose stud where Mary’s was. My daughter walked up and gave her a hug and offered to show her where the furnace was. The entire time the HVAC technician was working on the furnace, Jill was sitting on the steps chattering away. She told her about Mary and even offered to show her the playroom she had in the basement. She wanted to know if the HVAC technician liked to play with dollhouses because Aunt Mary always played dolls with her. The HVAC technician was so nice to Jill that I was sure she must have some kids of her own. When I asked her about it, she said she had a niece that was just like Jill. It was easy to be kind to her, and treat her like she did her niece. Jill wanted to know if she could ask the HVAC technician to come over for a play date. She told Jill she could bring her niece over and they could play, if it was okay with her mommy. Jill and I have new friends.