"Mama, FiweFightews Came To Da Pawk!"

That's how Ellie greeted me just now after coming home from a morning with daddy. "Firefighters?" I asked, to which daddy chuckingly replied, "Yup, the firefighters came to the park. To rescue Ellie. Who was stuck in the swing."

Oh, my poor girl. She is so much like me, in temperament and, well, body size. She has a hearty appetite, just like me. And she is no delicate flower. While I try hard not to obsess about her size and pass on some of the body issues I learned, it's true she is chunky. I know it. She actually eats fairly well, just probably bigger portions than a preschooler needs. And, as her preschool teacher put it, "She's not prone to movement."

So apparently she wanted to ride in the kiddie swings at the park, which she's always loved. Brett got her in, but couldn't get her out. As she was swinging, her legs apparently moved farther down through the seat, and didn't want to come back up. Brett also thinks he probably put her in "backward," through the smaller holes of the seat. Still, he said he tried for 20 minutes to get her out. Other parents at the park tried to help. He finally got a groundskeeper to help haul over a picnic table on which Ellie could stand so that at least gravity wouldn't be such a problem. And a few minutes after that, the firefighters came, whom Brett had called. They worked with her and rescued her, and were very kind.

Ellie was obviously very excited about all of this, as it's the first thing she told me. Brett said he was just glad she wasn't old enough to be embarrassed. So am I. I hope she's never embarrassed, no matter what size she turns out to be. I hope no one ever makes fun of her, I hope she never feels too ashamed to try a chair, for fear it will break, never wonders if she's too big for the porch swing or the trampoline or the roller coaster ride or what have you. Never assumes people won't like her (or love her) because she's bigger than they are. I hope we continue to feed her healthy food and encourage her to be active and that she slims down. But even if she doesn't, I hope she's spared all the painful feelings I had growing up, and knows she's loved no matter what. But what hurts right now is realizing that probably won't happen. And I can't keep it from happening, although I would give anything to be able to do so. My darling girl.