I saw the telltale glow under his covers, so in the soft light of morning, I pulled up his quilt and climbed in. He shined the flashlight into my face as I asked him how he slept.
His brother dozed peacefully in the bed next to us, and I could hear the baby stirring in her crib across the hall.
It didn’t feel like magic, being snuggled up with my son and a flashlight at 7:02 am.
It felt normal.
It felt like…Did I start the dishwasher last night? What should we eat for breakfast? What errands do we need to run today?
It felt like every morning for the last six years that I’ve been a mother.
—
They splash in the bath. The baby stands up and cautiously toddles over to grab a shampoo bottle. She plops down unceremoniously and concentrates on trying to get the lid open. Trenton, our oldest, suddenly turns on the water full force while Chase puts his hand over the faucet, redirecting the water to spray all over the room.
Sometimes I hide a laugh when this happens, sometimes I ignore it for a minute or two because at least they’re happy, and sometimes I tell them to cut it out.
It doesn’t feel like magic. It feels like water on my dry clothes.
But if I could watch it on a screen, I might see their bursting smiles instead of the mess.
—
She leans in when she’s eating.
When she’s in just the right mood, she leans deeply toward me with her head, while she sits in her high chair and I spoon her some yogurt. I lean my head in too, and we touch foreheads with sparkles in our eyes.
But it’s so quick and fleeting, and within seconds I’m standing to mop up a spill, or I’m bending down to pick up the half of her meal that she tossed onto the ground.
It doesn’t feel like magic. It feels like a tiny reward for loving them through the food throwing and the fit throwing and the I’m-going-to-throw-out-my-back-if-I-bend-down-one-more-time kind of days.
It feels like every day for the last six years that I’ve been a mother.
But it’ll feel like magic someday. It will feel like a dream.
So why not try to capture the magic now? While I’m actually living it.
What a beautiful thought. Love this, Erica. I’m going to look for the magic today!
One of your best yet. Simply beautiful.
This has been on my mind a lot lately, and one of the consequences of that is when I slow down, sometimes is does feel like magic right then. Sometimes.
Love you!
Lovely post and a great reminder for us to appreciate the present.
I love this post – such beautiful thoughts. Even though I don’t have kids yet, I need to remember to appreciate the stage of life I’m in, and the magical moments I have now.
Hi Emily! Great to hear from you, as always! Well said about finding the magical moments no matter what stage of life you’re in. Have a good weekend!
Beautiful thought! I smiles while reading it. It does all feel normal. I’ll start looking to capture the magic too. 🙂
Thanks so much, Jamie! I admit I didn’t capture much magic yesterday, but I’m gonna try again today! You have a great weekend!
Oh I loved this… pinned it too. How true that it is a string of magical moments we are living as moms – we just need to stop and appreciate! Thanks for reminding me.
I’ve been having more than my fair share of those moments these days. This morning we sat on the kitchen floor and just watched the blueberry pie baking and I lay down and bounced Micah on my belly. Wendy wanted to bounce too, so she climbed on behind Micah and the two of them combined were WAY too heavy, haha, and the wood floor was digging into my shoulders, but I bounced them anyway and their huge smiles were TOTALLY worth the discomfort. 🙂 It was so magical to see them both smiling at me at the same time when it feels like more often they’re both screaming at the same time. 😉
I LOVE this! Thanks for the reminder to relish this stage of life.
I love this!!! So sweet. And I love the photos too! I’m looking for the magic today in the middle of all the normal!
Thanks so much, Elizabeth! Me too, today. Hope you find it!
You are so right!
Definitely something i needed to read today. Thank you
Loved reading this Erica.. The last two lines were an eye opener:)
Love It! I will try to look for the magic in my 7 year old and 10 year old. They grow up so fast not to. Today is a perfect day to start with My daughter’s 7th Birthday today.
So true, Svetlana! It does sound like the perfect day to start. Enjoy that bday!
As a grandma I’ve realized how much I missed while my kids were growing up. So now I take the time to savor and enjoy those moments with my grandkids. I love the noise of play, the happy chatter and the silliness of it all. These moments are fleeting and pass so quickly. So relax and enjoy while you’re in this place and time with these treasures, you won’t regret it.
Thank you so much, Katherine! I’m doing my best to!