Emma's Editorial's: Piper's Decision

Wow, I'm in complete shock.  I didn't see this coming at all...she seemed so happy with everything!  But I'm getting ahead of myself.  I suppose I should tell you what on earth I'm talking about! :}

I think it's been mentioned in previous posts how Piper has been getting to know Jo, Mimi's doll who was here to get her wig glued on again.  Piper has enjoyed getting to know all of us here, but she's never really made any super close friends...until she met Jo. 

Jo was really nervous about getting her wig glued on, and she confided as much to Piper in one of their first conversations.  Piper may not be much of a talker, but she's a great listener.  She's also very compassionate.  She made the perfect confidant for Jo, and their friendship grew steadily after that.  In the past few weeks, they've become inseparable.

We didn't know this until later, but apparently one of the other things they talked about was how much Mimi wanted an actual American Girl doll.  She loved Jo very much, but she wanted to find her a friend that was an AG doll like Piper, Charlie and me.  Jo talked a lot about Mimi and how special she was.

The wheels were beginning to turn in Piper's head (or so I assume).

The bombshell came just this morning.  Piper came into our room, more cheerful than we've seen her in a long time.  She seemed to be brimming over with confidence and determination, which is really unlike her.  Charlie and I had been going over what we needed to do before Hayden got here (figuring out where her bed would go and so on), but we turned our attention to our sister/cousin as soon as she arrived. 

"Hi, Piper!  What's up?" Charlie asked cheerfully.

For the smallest fraction of a moment, Piper hesitated, and her confidence seemed to waver.  Then, with renewed determination, she stood up straight and said, "I need to talk to you."

We both gave her our attention.  "What is it?" I asked.

Piper cleared her throat.  "I've made a...that is...I've decided to...move to Mimi's."  She threw the last few words out so quickly that we almost missed them.  Almost, but not quite. 

"Move to Mimi's?" I gasped.  "But Piper, why?  Aren't you happy here with us?"

Charlie looked at her with concern.  "If this is about Hayden, please rethink things.  You're just as special to us as Hayden is.  I'm sure we'll all be really happy together."

Piper actually laughed.  Not unkindly or anything.  It was more like now that she'd actually gotten the words out, she was full of relief. 

"This isn't about Hayden, or about anything you or Mama have done," she assured us.  "I don't feel jealous or replaced.  But I don't really feel needed here.  I feel loved, but not needed.  You girls have each other, and you're getting ready to welcome your real sister soon.  Mama has been very kind, but she has so many of us.  Mimi doesn't have any actual American Girl dolls.  Not even one.  Jo was talking about how much Mimi's been wanting an American Girl doll of her own...and...I want to be that doll.  I want to be that needed."

She paused for a moment.  That had been a lot of talking for our quiet, pensive cousin.  

We stood there looking at her glumly.

Piper smiled sympathetically at our gloomy faces.  "Please try to understand.  I'm so excited about this!  Jo and I have gotten really close.  I've never had that close of a friend before.  You girls are great, and Ruthie is a special sister, but there's something about having a special friend, too.  Jo and I have a lot in common.  And so do Mimi and I, apparently.  Did you know she likes Bollywood movies?" 

I nodded, thinking back to the movie I watched at Mimi's house when we were there for Mama's party.  It had even been a Shahid Kapoor movie, Piper's favorite.  I knew Piper would be happy there, but I felt tears slipping down my cheeks in spite of myself.

Piper reached over and wiped them away.  "I'm not going to the moon, you know," she said gently.  "It takes 20 minutes to get there if Mama drives you.  You girls can come visit me any time you like.  You can bring Hayden, too.  I can't wait to meet her."   

It was hard to stay sad when Piper was so confident and happy.  We gave each other a three-way hug. 

I knew Piper and Mimi would really hit it off.  And what she said was true...Mimi's house wasn't very far away, and we were constantly visiting there. 

I put on my bravest smile for her.  "If this is what you really want to do, then we're happy for you."

Charlie nodded.  "We'll miss you a lot, but at least we'll be able to come visit you a lot, too.  And I'm so glad you were able to make such a special friend."  Charlie was best friends with Hailey, so she understood the special bond between friends.

Piper gave us that same gentle smile.  "I'll miss both of you a lot too, but I'm sure this is what I want to do.  I'm so excited to go live at Mimi's house.  You'll have to come visit me as soon as you can."

Little did we know that while Piper was delivering her news to us, Katie had similar news to give to Tess and Hailey.  It must have been a conspiracy! :}

Tess and Hailey were sitting on Hailey's bed chatting when Katie came in, dressed in her meet outfit.  She hadn't worn that for a really long time, which naturally made Tess and Hailey curious.

It was then that Katie explained that she had been invited to live at Grandmama's house...and she had accepted the invitation.

Naturally, Tess and Hailey were stunned at this sudden announcement. 

It wasn't the most terrible parting ever, as Grandmama's house is only 5 minutes away from ours, but still...it was tough that Katie hadn't discussed it with them before this.  At least they'd just heard from Ella, so it didn't feel quite so much like a double blow. 

Tess told me later that when she asked Katie why she'd made the decision, Katie explained that she was restless.  She'd always wanted to be a traveling doll, but with her eye and leg condition, travel was out of the question for now.  Grandmama's house was somewhere new and exciting that wasn't too far away from Tess and Hailey.  Katie was looking forward to trying new things and meeting new dolls while still being close enough to visit Tess and Hailey as often as she liked.

There wasn't much more that Tess and Hailey could do besides hug their cousin and wish her well.

We've all talked about it since (Tess, Hailey, Charlie and I), and have realized that while we'll miss our cousins, it's not nearly as sad of a situation as it could be.  We can still see our cousins as much as we want to.  Really, we'll be living the way most human cousins live now.  Not many people are blessed enough to live with their cousins every day.  We also know that Piper and Katie will be really happy in their new homes. 

So even though we shed some tears, we know that it's all for the best.  Tess mentioned that she had just asked Jesus to help her trust Him, no matter what happened, so she said that He seemed to be seeing if she really meant her words.  I've noticed the Lord does have a way of doing that. 

Piper and Katie will be here for two more days, and then they'll move on to their new homes.  We'll miss them terribly, but at least we know that when we get too homesick for them, we can take a short ride in the car with Mama and go visit them. :)