her eyes shined

In 2013 I went to Guatemala with my 18 year old daughter. One day we were in a rural area visiting some families that do not speak Spanish, but a dialect that I couldn't understand a word of. While the grownups talked, I went outside to see the kids. None of the kids we visited had fathers and I decided that I was going to completely let go and put in my eyes as much delight and enjoyment as I could possible give them. Actually, it was less like putting and more like letting go. I played with them, swung them around, hung them upside down. Never spoke a word. Looked them in the eye and smiled at them. There was one girl in particular. Seven years old. It took me 30 minutes to coax her out to play with me and her brother. Smiling and waving to show her it was safe. When she joined us we threw a small thing like a hula hoop back and forth for almost an hour. Every time I looked at her I allowed my full heart to show. She had the most beautiful smile. Her eyes shined. She saw in my eyes that she was beautiful. Right now I can feel her in my chest. Little girls see in our eyes that they are lovely and that's how they know they are lovely.