Mija

Leah is bouncing down the hall to me and I glance over at her when she comes into view. "How's my girl today? How's Mija?" I ask her, using some of the simple Spanish I know to give her a nickname. She cocks her head to one side and gives me a confused face.

"What does that mean?"I look up at Billy and smile. "It means 'my daughter' in Spanish." He nods in understanding. "I think it would be good for her to pick up some things from a second language. Her mom used to speak Spanish to her sisters sometimes." I smile sadly at the memory.