Sometimes the tiniest of moments need to be remembered. Perhaps this tiny moment doesn't really need to be remembered, but it's so very Mila. Everything about it is so very Mila.
Wednesdays are a special sort of chaos. Everybody gets home from school and gets ready for their own brand of after-school chaos. Alexis has dance; Mila has gymnastics/tumbling. That fits, doesn't it? That Mila is leaning into gymnastics and tumbling? I think it fits. I wrap up work earlier than usual, at 5:00, and then throw everyone in the car so I can drive here and there and everywhere to pick everyone up and drop them off and all of that. Normally the last hour of my work day is rather peaceful, perhaps a one-on-one or something like that.
Today, though. Today was extra. An earlier meeting went sideways, which led to a cluster of people gathering after, and basically I was on a call with three people with much more important titles than my own and one of my peers. We were trying to solve A Thing as the clock inched towards 5:00.
As expected, Mila exploded past my office door to change into clothes for gymnastics. She always passes by with flair, which is spectacular. She changed into a unitard and a t-shirt, which means that when she returned to pass by the door again, it looked like all she was wearing was a t-shirt. It happened to be a tiny bit too big, just long enough to completely cover her unitard.
What was important, though, was the wad of dollar bills she had in her hand. Mila has been raking it in from the Tooth Fairy lately, and she was standing in the doorway, proudly waving her wad of cash with the biggest toothless grin on her face. Remember, she looked like she was pantless as she waved her cash dollars and grinned.
And then she LOUDLY busted out, "Don't you wish you were rich like me?" before running away.
It was loud enough for my computer to pick up the sound. I wasn't muted. I was trying to keep a straight face as I watched the little cash money dance.
Clearly, I failed at keeping the straight face. And I will forever be okay with it because THAT is exactly what the tiny moments with Mila are like.