Sad Girl

You don't have to live in a small town for long before everyone looks familiar. Took me a while to get used to that (let's just say I'm much more careful about, say, gesturing at other drivers than when I lived in slightly more crowded places, such as Los Angeles). With the girls' activities our circle of acquaintances has become huge and I'm rarely out and about without running into a friendly face. I spend a lot of time in the car trying to figure out how I know the person I was just talking to, and what the heck her name is, again.

Anyway, one of the girls we see pretty often gives me pause. She's four. In the two and a half years since we met, I've never seen her smile. Not at preschool, the gym, the library, the children's museum. Now, anyone who's run into us has a decent chance of witnessing an exchange that ends in "I don't listen to whining. Please stop it. Now. WHAT DID I JUST SAY?!" We are not all giggles. But this little one... shoot. I've never seen her scolded, she just always looks so profoundly miserable it takes me aback. It would be less unsettling if I saw her crying all the time (then she'd be merely annoying. KIDDING! sort of). But she doesn't make a peep, or change her expression. It makes me wonder what's up. I don't get the same sad vibe from her older brother. Poor little one. Cheer up, kiddo! It's not that bad. I hope.