I posted this picture a couple of weeks ago on Instagram. It was the picture Charlotte chose to share. I love it. I love it for a lot of reasons.
We live just over a half-mile from the main gate of Osan Air Base. To get anywhere meaningful on base is at least another half-mile, but for most places we visit (the library, BX, and swimming pool) it is closer to another mile. On Thursday mornings I take the kids to the library for reading time and crafts. We don't have our car so I pack the 3 kids in our stroller and push them along with any of the necessary things we need like diapers, wipes, snacks, and water.
At the beginning of August we set out for our normal trip to the library but as we neared the main gate I realized there were more policemen walking around than normal. Sure enough, there was another protest scheduled (more on that in a post to come) which meant they were closing the gates. It was around 10 in the morning at the beginning of August; a nice sunny and very humid day. We headed to the library. Upon our arrival, I discovered from a friend that the gates weren't opening again until 4pm. Awesome.
This picture was taken at 3:30 in the afternoon. Hazel and Zachary were asleep in the stroller. Charlotte and I had stopped at a bench to read books in the shade. We were both extremely hot and sweaty. Charlotte had walked over 2 miles already at this point (an anomaly really) and knew that she still had to walk home. The water in our water bottle was warm. The girls had eaten only the snacks I'd packed for the morning and a shared smoothie between the 3 of us girls. But her smile in this picture is pure and genuine. She made what could have been a pretty terrible afternoon into a fun adventure. I love this picture because it represents a time when I recognized that Charlotte is growing up, and yet she is still my sweet little girl.
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