To Juliette - Valentine's Day 2011
When she still smelled brand new
And curled her fingers tightly around mine
And the downy hair on her head swirled perfectly
I thought to myself- I love this age.
When she began to belly laugh
And did her best to squirm away from me
As I planted raspberry kisses on her newly washed tummy
I thought to myself- I love this age.
When she learned to titter and totter
And discovered how to take the books off the shelf
And how to de-organize cabinets in the blink of an eye
I thought to myself- I may not love this age, but I’ll certainly miss it someday.
Tonight as we read bedtime stories
And I ran my fingers through her curls
And I tucked her into her ‘big-girl’ bed for the second night ever
I thought to myself- I love this age.
Parenthood holds so many gifts.
Each stage unwraps even more to be enjoyed.
I want to savor each moment,
Letting the magic of this journey forever write itself upon my memory.
Soon she’ll be reading, driving, making a life of her own.
The reality of the inevitable seldom lets itself be forgotten.
But if I could just bottle up these moments,
I most certainly would.
For with all my heart- I love this age.
