Thursday, March 8, 2012

the tender youth

one day my daughter will not pull a child-sized chair up to the window to blow kisses to me when i drop her off at school. one day i won't be able to cuddle her whole body in my embrace. one day charlie might not say to me, "i just need some love..." and then cozy up to me one the couch for animal-style affection, rubbing foreheads and cheeks together, making cooing sounds and me repeating "so much love..." i see that parenting small children is such a brief moment in the scope of a lifetime and that in the midst of daily mini-crises, children fighting and crying and demanding, it's so easy to forget to appreciate the miracle of their innocence, their openness and unfiltered joy. sometimes i'm so caught up in my own internal drama to notice hazel spying on butterflies and charlie making leaps and bounds in learning. he can already spell 'sleeping!' and he writes his whole name on paper and rides his bike without training wheels! with tears of gratitude for my children...