Mily, the Miracle Child

Recently, I was in Mexico and I had the blessing of spending it playing with my grandma’s dog and also with my cousin’s six-year-old Milagros.  Jesus really understood the importance of spending time with children because their innocence can really inspire our faith.  I took quite a few gifts to Mili because she has been wooing my family since the first time my parents met her.  On this particular day we were playing with a toy nativity, she was really into the toy because recently the magi (as is customary in Mexico) had brought her gifts.  The nativity came with a book and we read the story which gave a great explanation for each character in the scene.  As we learned of each character, she would add her thoughtful insight which constantly made me smile.  She had much to say about the wise men and how they brought her a stroller, cookies and other fine gems and she was very interested in the gifts they had given Jesus.

Yet, when we placed the angel on the nativity- she didn’t wait for me to tell her who he was, “Oh, this is our guardian angel who takes care of us.”  I thought it was the cutest thing that she already knew about guardian angels because when I was her age, I was mesmerized by an image of my guardian angel that hung above my bed.  In Mexico, we have a great devotion to guardian angels and this interaction with Milly reminded me of that.  Thus, in my next shopping trip I decided to search for the same image that hung in my room when I lived in Mexico and sure enough the first religious store that I tried, I found it.  My little angel, Mili, reminded me of the great devotion that I had to my guardian angel when I was her age simply because a beautiful image hung above my bed.

Found the exact image I had in my room when I was a little girl.

Mili after school.

Playing fetch with Chula.

Everyday, we would open a new gift that I had brought for her usually an interactive game and one day she came from kindergarten after winning a loot bag of candy and handed me a chocolate bar- I thought she wanted me to open it for her, but before I could she said, “I want you to have this, just because.”  Giving away candy is huge for a child and here was little Mili giving me one of hers! I took it giving her thanks and admiring what a wonderful child she is.

She'd let her hair down because she wanted to look like me.

In Mexico, things are expensive in terms of the salaries people make.  My grandma doesn’t have Wifi so I had to use the neighbor's and that’s the norm for most households.  I think in a way this is a blessing because children still play with toys and with one another, they are not locked to screens.  Little Milagros would come and play with me after school – most days we played fetch with grandma’s dog and then a game with one another.  The day we played with the nativity, was perhaps my favorite day because she told me how she got her name- “I am a miracle and that’s why my parents named me thus.”  Then, when I was called to adult conversation she went over to my grandma’s altar and remained transfixed talking to Mother Mary.  She didn’t throw a tantrum because I couldn’t play with her anymore, she just took her toys and started playing by herself- truly an amazing child, so glad I got to spend so much time with her.