At First Beep

"It only takes a moment to be loved your whole life long." - It Only Takes a Moment, Hello Dolly

Maeve is so head-over-heels for Wall-E right now, it goes beyond words.  I have drawn her a picture of the pair of robots, Wall-E and Eve, which she brings almost everywhere.  She "reads" to them, brings them snacks, tucks them in for naps, and wants them to watch her do pirouettes and froggy hops and all her other tricks.  Thank goodness Grandma has found a plush version of the little robot online for Maeve, because typically of Disney, even though the movie only came out in 2008, there are no toys available for purchase anywhere, not even their online store.

This post, though, isn't about Wall-E, it's about love.

My marvelous local consignment shop replied to my desperate post on their Facebook wall and let me know they did, in fact, have one Wall-E item, a book, "Love At First Beep," and they would hold it for me.  With great gratitude, Maeve and I set off to purchase the book, all the while I was hoping it wouldn't be too wordy for her and lose her interest.  No trouble there.  The book is about how Wall-E taught Eve about love.

The book explains, in simple and sweet terms, how Wall-E learned about love from a movie, but he was lonely.  When he met Eve, he wasn't lonely anymore, and he took care of her even when she had shut down.  He followed her into space because he loved her.  And when she saw that he had cared for her, even when she was incapable of responding, she learned what love is, too, and they returned to Earth, where love and life had been growing all along.

It's not often one gets the chance to spell out what love really is, even though a toddler has had so many object lessons in love she should be up to her ears in the concept.  But after reading the book yesterday, Maeve kept telling me: He loves her.  Just that, over and over, and I kept saying, Yes, he really does.

At dinner last night, Daddy gave Maeve a bunch of his lemonade when she asked for more, because I had run out in the pitcher.  I told Maeve: Daddy is sharing his lemonade with you because he loves you.  She looked thoughtful about that.  So I'm grateful that a couple of robots are teaching my daughter what love really is, and maybe she will see it more clearly in our eyes.