¡Mi Patitos, Mi Patitos!

It's late, I'm sitting here looking at the prompt for the first assignment for Compassion's blog month-a note to your childhood self-and all I can think of is ducks...little yellow ducks...and a mommy duck...squirting water all over me...

Ok, ok, I know that sounds strange, but if you were me, you'd be laughing and probably crying at this thought.  Just a few weeks ago, I spent a day with 3 charming little girls.  One of them, sweet, mischievous, little Dayana, brought along her little rubber duckies.  The little ones fit on top of the mommy-you know the type.  

They would flip over and the babies would fall in the pool, "mi patitos, mi patitos," she would squeal, giggling all the while. She would catch them and put them back where they were safe on their mother's back. As her shyness wore off she began using the ducks to squirt me with water, eventually even in the face (thankfully it was in the pool rather than the ocean).  The squirting instigated tickling (how could I resist?), to which she responded with tickling of her own.  

All barriers broken, she stole my heart with that giggle, that tickle, those little patitos...

So, my first Blog Month post isn't exactly following the prompt on talking to my childhood self...rather just addressing childhood in general.  Dayana touched my heart with her childhood antics.  Showing me her family photos, the photos I had sent her, the letters I wrote her, and the gifts I had sent were some moments I cherished from our visit together. Our little games and most of all, our hugs and snuggles will forever be etched in my heart. 

Many children in poverty don't have the chance to truly be a child, but for Dayana, at least for one day, she didn't have a care in the world, except for those patitos. 

There are hundreds of children just like Dayana waiting for a sponsor to give them hope and most of all love.  I promise you it's not hard to love these precious little ones.  My heart is breaking looking at these photos and my arms are aching to hold my "little patito" once again.

Please consider sponsoring a child today!