the circle of life

the girlie with auntie

(written september 12, 2010)

watched the lion king with the girlie this afternoon. it was hard to break the intricacies of the story down to a three-year-old level (jealousy, deception, ancestry), but she got the good, ol' fashioned good vs. evil plot of simba reclaiming the throne from scar, so we were good. the final fight scene really got her riled up, and she was absolutely delighted at the end, when rafiki presented simba and nala's cub to a restored pride rock. the smile on her face was the best part of the experience for me.

i go outside myself for a moment, watching her as she watched simba. it seems sometimes as if she's growing up as quickly as he did in that music montage with pumba and timon. i feel like it's all getting away from me.

just yesterday my grandmother was taking my sister and me to see the lion king in the theater. my sister wasn't even 10 years old yet. she was more interested in the chicken fingers she was getting after the movie than the movie itself. now, she's 25 and married. my grandmother has become one of those ancestors watching over us, as mufasa teaches simba. i am a mother, trying to teach my daughter. and she is of an age when she can really understand and retain what i tell her.

time, man. and life. it is salt and sweet.