Three days a week, all summer, Sophie’s hanging with Courtney. We love her. (Not sure if I’ve already blogged about her, but she deserves another entry, for sure.) Courtney is a special ed major at Arizona State, so wise beyond her 21 years. She’s slid seamlessly into our household – not bothered if she arrives in the morning and everyone’s in PJs; patiently dealing with both pets and kids, which seem to abound around here right now; not bothered if Sophie gives her the cold shoulder (which doesn’t happen very often, come to think of it).

This afternoon I came home to a very tired kid. That’s not unusual; it’s hot, and Courtney makes sure Sophie’s days are full. Today included tutoring with Ms. X, speech therapy and a long time at a city pool — Annabelle’s summer camp was on a field trip, so Sophie and Courtney joined in, unofficially.

“She got really emotional at the end of the day,” Courtney said. Oh, I asked, was that when she had to say goodbye to Annabelle at the pool?

Courtney looked a little embarrassed.

“No,” she replied. “It was when she was going to the bathroom.”

Weird. Courtney had a good explanation, I thought. Looking even more embarrassed, she explained, “Sometimes I think she has too much time to think when she’s sitting on the toilet.”

See why we love Courtney?