Every night I try to get a little play session in with Isabel before she falls asleep. Sometimes we dance, sometimes I “eat” her (I morph into a hungry dinosaur every now and then), or we just wrestle like a couple of boys. The best part of all of this is striking just the right cord with her and being struck in return by her heart-warming giggle. There is no better medicine in the world than hearing your child laugh with her whole body. You can spend a whole day frustrated, exhausted, disappointed or down and then you hear it, the pure sound of joy, and it floods you.
Our big bundle of joy
This past week was a bit rough with colds, stuffed noses (poor Thomas!) and little sleep. The first few easy weeks were a tease! Well, I guess the lack of a full night’s sleep in the last 5 months has started to catch up with me. For a few days I was literally a walking zombie and could barely drive for even 5 minutes. And I wasn’t awake enough to realize that I probably should not have been driving. Luckily, though, every now and then I get one of those giggles and the dead weight of exhaustion evaporates. Of course, I am also very lucky to have a helping husband. What would I do if he didn’t work from home? (Suck it up, woman!) More on that later.
And I could not possibly leave out my little bundle of joy. Boy, are babies worth it all or what!
Our little bundle of joy
His smell still intoxicates me! At first, I kept trying to smell baby Isabel and kept thinking, “where is that smell?” and wanted what I used to have. I’ve grown since then and have come to enjoy his scent just as much as I did hers.
Ahhhh, just to look at that face...
And so, as I get to relive the joys of having a newborn in my arms I also get the tremendous happiness that comes from watching Isabel grow. The things she says now, “does that make sense [Mommy]?”, “I love you, Guy”, “I see Nagyi’s reflection” – where? – “On the ceiling” (she really did see it, there is a skylight up there), kind of blow me away. You know, it’s all new to me and I cannot help but wonder in awe at her mental growth. For sure, there is some divine humor at play here: we have no recollection at all of our early years, it never occurs to us how much we went through and changed then; and suddenly, (well a couple of -or a few- decades later) we get to consciously live and witness it all over again vicariously through our children. How cool is that?!
My thoughtful little girl
To sum it up, Happiness is a beautiful family. Happiness is watching the people you love grow, both mentally and spiritually.
And, naturally, happiness is getting my camera back!
Happiness
My mom used to say that too, about the smell! You write really nicely!