One night as I was tucking Kate (age 6) into bed, she said, “Mom, what is happening?!” and turned around to show me her mouth, which was dripping blood.
I shrieked, “You lost your tooth! Your first tooth!”
But then we could not actually find it. We searched her bedding, her pajamas, under her bed, and through the shag rug, all to no avail. She didn’t mind she was so belly-laughing-slap-happy that she lost her first tooth! She thought it would NEVER happen.
I cleaned her up, took pictures, texted Daddy (who was out that night), and sent her off to bed with a short talk about the tooth fairy.
“If I don’t have my tooth, will the tooth fairy still know to come?” I assured her and told her not to worry. Wink. Wink.
Fifteen minutes later while I am in bed reading, I hear her pitter-pat on the wood floors to my room. I could practically see her grin through the dark.
Kate was so excited, so giddy, she could NOT fall asleep. She was so happy, so validated in this rite of passage, so fresh and pure in her joy. She was so overcome that she couldn’t fall asleep. At all. And needed to snuggle in with me. Of course I said YES. It was precious.
Aren’t these the moments we live for as a mom? The ooey-gooey sweetness with our kids?
I LOVE THESE MOMENTS. I savor them. As you know, they don’t happen all day long or even every day.
So when they come, I breathe them in like I’m inhaling sunshine to my soul. It feeds me. It keeps me going amidst mounds of laundry, dishes, homework, and pee-infested toilets.
Amazing mom moments to date:
- The second Luke came out of my tummy, and I got to SEE him for the first time
- When Luke completed a shapes puzzle at 14 months of age and I thought certainlyhe was a genius
- When Ryan walked for the first time
- When Ryan first wrote his name
- When Luke had his first piano recital
- When Luke said he would “give his life for Ryan”
- When I found out I was having a girl
- When Kate crawled out of her crib (not exactly a happy moment for me…)
- When Luke said he believed in Jesus, for real
- When Ryan asked, “God gave me to this family, right, Dad?”
- When Kate volunteered to pray at dinner for the first time; she included our cat, Hobie, in the prayer
- When I surprised the kids the day I brought our labradoodle pup Gracie home, and Luke squealed, “Today’s the day?! She’s really ours?”
- When little sister Kate was helping Ryan take a bath, and using the sweetest mothering voice with him
- When all my children are wrestling and tickling and giggling on the floor TOGETHER
I could gush on and on…and I should, for my sake. Because I tend to get so lost in my to-do’s and tasks and keeping everyone on time…that I forget these delicious joys.
Dostoevsky said in one of his books that the soul is healed by being with children. I most certainly agree.
Leave a Reply