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Rose Raven at 6 1/2

2014 February 11
by Rachel Turiel

girl

The 80’s called and they want their outfit back.

It’s currently 40F outside and the ground is a goulash of thick, shoe-sucking mud. While the rest of us schlub around in shapeless boots and an over-abundance of fleece, Rose will never succumb to the scourge of dressing for comfort.

She asks if our cat can have “just a tiny little smidgen of raw elk.” She tells me in the shower how I “look like a chicken without feathers – right around your belly!” She tells us that when she eats gluten it gives her a stuffy nose, and when Col eats gluten it makes him be mean and leave her out. When she’s upset and I fail to meet her with empathy, mistakenly trying to talk her out of her feelings, she wails, “that makes me even sadder!”

Rose seems well-suited to some sort of communal living where all possessions are held in common. If you bring a cookie, a tube of yogurt, or even a cough drop into our house, Rose will sit approximately one centimeter away from you, offering a hundred reasons why you should share. Meanwhile, she distributes gum, stuffed animals and stickers to her friends like they’re needy children bereft of the simple joys of childhood.

Last week she smuggled a wandering dog without tags onto our porch and wailed when I told her we couldn’t let him in, feed him or adopt him. “I’ll buy him a dog bed with my own money,” she cried. “I’ll walk him every morning!” I never acquiesced but I held the sobbing mass of her, my heart tenderized by the fierce love contained in 46 pounds.

Living with Rose is like having a fearless tour guide leading me through Six-Year-Old Girlhood. We stop at all the dazzling sights like: I would die for cats and two headbands are better than one. I’m usually two steps behind, filled with awe and wondering how it’s all going to work out, when Rose grabs me by the hand, yanking me into the present moment where she’s right here throwing her arms around me.

ps: If you’re celebrating Valentines Day, dazzle your lovies with this grain-free, sugar-free, raw, chocolate cake.



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