Four hugs a day... That's the minimum.

It's hard to believe my sweet girl is wrapping up first grade. And it's even harder to believe I've now celebrated Mother's Day (as a Momma) six times. Each year it gets better and better.

Her Highness' class put on a special program for Mother's ONLY. Her Highness reminded me at least 84 times, "Do you have a babysitter? You know the boys are NOT invited! Only MOMS can come! Do you have a babysitter??" She wasn't convinced that Bert could handle the job and kept encouraging me to schedule a real sitter. Bert made sure to work from home that morning so I could go and obey the "Moms ONLY" rule.

It was such a precious program. All the children were dressed to the nines and sang their sweet hearts out.

Pop a Dramamine and check out this video. Please excuse the Blair Witch film crew....

How cute is that little boy behind Her Highness?? I'm surprised he never fainted due to his knees being locked the entire time.

After the adorable singing program, we headed back to their classroom and enjoyed a lovely candle light brunch. There were table cloths and everything! So sweet. Their teacher took pictures of each student and had them decorate a frame to give each Mother. As if all of that wasn't enough to make me cry, there was also a slide show playing with pictures of each child and a quote underneath as to why their Mommy was special, set to Celine Dion's "Because You Loved Me." Oh. My. Word. Talk about water works.

For the kids whose Mothers couldn't be there, a staff member filled-in, so no child was eating alone. The first grade teachers went to a lot of trouble to create a wonderful morning of memories, for us all.

Her Highness began to tear up, which I thought was induced by my own tears, as well as every warm-blooded mother in the room, so I tried to reassure her that we were all crying from such a sweet morning. Her Highness lost it. Completely. I scooped her up and carried her out in the hallway, so she wouldn't be embarrassed in front of her class. She continued sobbing and explained that she was sad about her teacher retiring, since she wouldn't be able to hug her in the halls next year. She was sad that some of the mommies couldn't be there, and didn't understand why some of the (same) mommies never came to anything.

"Well, Honey. I'm sure they had to work today. If I had a job, I might not have gotten to come either." She continued sobbing, "No, Momma. Her mother doesn't even work! She said so yesterday... that she was mad that her mother wasn't coming and she doesn't even work!"

A huge lump filled my throat. How do you answer that? Her Highness wasn't done though. She almost sent me over the edge with her following statement... "And, Momma. Some of the girls today didn't even have a dress to wear for the program. Some of them had to borrow a dress from Alan's Mom. She brought them dresses to wear and tried to sneak them in the bathroom to change. But I saw her. Why did they not have a dress?? That makes me sad to think that some girls don't even have a dress!"

Her Highness' first glimpse into the real world. A world that's unfair and unkind and unsafe for so very many. A world where children are hungry and hurting, and not just physically, but emotionally too. A world that even I, as a 29 year old, can't quite grasp. Part of me wanted to pick that innocent baby up and run home. To shield her away from that world. Thoughts of rocking her while holding on to her beloved Poppie (blankie) and singing "Hush Little Baby" almost drove me to it. But, now that my 6 3/4 (that 3/4 is very important right now) year old daughter's eyes have been opened, I pray they will never be closed. As painful as it was to experience her heart ache, I was grateful for those precious moments, including the sad introduction to what is called LIFE. Grateful for the situation in which we live. Grateful that Her Highness is mine, and I am hers....

Right before my very eyes Her Highness is growing up. And becoming a role model....

I love that she's always had the ability to dance like no one's watching, even when a couple of hundred parents were watching....

I feel so blessed to be her biggest fan and witness her shining moments....

And grateful that I get to witness those quiet moments which make her shine.

Just as she was so proud to sing, I hope she's always proud to give those "Four hugs a day" to all those around her. Especially those who need it most... like the precious souls from her class.