Ash Wednesday: Sadie's Ashes

Sadie was not thrilled about the ashes yesterday. Here reaction to being brought to the front of the church when Mommy and Daddy got their ashes looked something like this:

No crying, just trying to disappear back into daddy's chest.

After we went back and sat down I took a little smudge of ash on my finger to see if she was more comfortable with Mommy doing it. Let's just say the reaction was an adamant "no." She gave me her hand and let me smudge a little cross there (because I had a feeling she'd want one later) and then clung to Daddy's shirt, turning every few minutes to give Mommy a severe looking pout before glancing up at my forehead and frowning. Daddy's ashes didn't seem to bother her.

When we got in the car I tried to come up with an appropriate 19 month old explanation for the ashes. I finally told her while we were waiting in the car for Daddy that the ashes were a sign to help us remember to be good. After that she started to look at them and smile.

By the time we got home she loved her ashes. She showed them to Nani. And then she took Nani's hand and ran all the way to the river to show them to Nini. Everyone had to see Sadie's barely there little smudge on her hand and she kept showing it to me all day long, even after they had long since rubbed off on her pink "Princess" sweatshirt.

I wonder what she'll think of it all next year...