Life on our Playground

Meet Samariah, Madeline's best friend in our apartment complex. When I first met her, she told me, "My momma got my name from the Bible. But then she added an S and an M and an R and an H." My head was spinning trying to figure out what her name might have stemmed from . . . still no clue what it could have been beyond subtracting the H, but I immediately loved her for it. Samariah has turned out to be the sweetest girl in the world, and she simply adores Madeline.

In fact, Madeline has quite the adoring crew of friends around the complex. Although the camera flash in the above picture makes her look a little extra white, it's safe to say that the two of us stick out just a little bit when we're walking around, and it didn't take long for people to know who Madeline is. I took her to the playground last night after not being there for a few days, and at least four kids immediately shouted, "Madeline!" and came running.

These kids are all hilarious, too. One of my favorite kids is named Deon. He's seven, and he's the biggest show-off I've ever met. This kid actually has a reason to show off, though, because he's good when he's doing tricks. Yesterday he showed me how he can swing really high and then jump off and do a flip in midair before landing on his feet--with no broken neck. The best moment was when he spotted a woman who had just pulled up in a mail truck. He yelled out, "Hey mailgirl! Watch this!" and then did his trick.

Mailgirl. I love it.