Usually when we come home from work and daycare it’s straight indoors for dinner, bath, stories, bedtime. But tonight the May showers broke, the air was warm and it smelled like daffodils and sweet, wet grass. Tonight we lingered outdoors.
You toddled around the sidewalk, marveled at the growing plants and dug in the garden, unearthing a hidden bottle cap. Eyes shining, you held it out to me and smiled. How does a simple object bring you so much joy?
I want to bottle up all the goodness in this moment and carry it with me everywhere. For days I’ve been carrying something heavy, holding my breath, praying, waiting, hoping for life’s storms to break. I am pleading for a change of forecast.
It’s getting late so I scoop you up and we greet your daddy at the door. Your clutch your treasure in your mud-stained palm and show it to him, giggling with delight.
Seeing the world anew through your eyes is breathtaking. You stop me in my tracks and startle me with sunshine, even on a cloudy day. Growing boy, you give your mama hope.
Erin Strybis 