Bumble Bee Bumble Bee

I stumbled upon this professional portrait of me and a certain Sicilian child today. At first I thought it wasn't the best portrait of me. I am not even looking at the camera. Taken only 3 months ago I look at the child and she has a big grin on her face.  Her mouth is open and smiling. Even her eyes smile. She is having a happy moment. On second thought this is a great portrait of me because it's obvious who is making this child smile.  The fact that she feels safe on the futon next to me is hugely important and sacred. Our bond is obvious. This picture was taken after two solid hours of a pretty good photographer taking all the attention away from the this child who is just a few days into the role of big sister. She still isn't sure she wants to be a big sister yet and it has been three months.  So although I am not looking at the camera,I am glad this photo was taken because it shows I valued the child more than the picture.  However, given the fact that I still have a red, hot swollen lump under my arm from a bee sting the other day, how can it not be ironic that at the moment this photo was taken I was threatening this child with a dramatic reading of, "Bumble bee, bumble bee, coming from the barn,going to get Eva right under the arm!"