After a nice long play session in the living room, playing and banging with toys, crawling through tunnels, standing by tables, Olive crawls over and grabs her mama's pant leg. Her mama has been watching her from the couch while drinking warm coffee and texting various friends about how tired she is. Olive pulls herself up to stand, almost effortlessly, a skill she's practiced over and over. The afternoon sun is poaring in from the large windows surrounding the couch. Mama sets her coffee down on the table, and looks down at the infant at her feet. When did she grow to be this big? She thought as she pictured her nearly 6 pound newborn that she fell in love with nine short months ago.
Olive reaches both hands up towards her "uhh uhh" she whined. As she's scooped up in her mothers arms she lets out a "ahh da". Her mom, with a devilish smirk on her face, calls out "that's it! I'm going to eat that tummy!" She turns Olive on her side, raises her in the air and begins kissing her side "roar rah rah" she growls! Olive closes her eyes, and shrieks a high pitched shriek. Mom brings her down to a cradle hold and stares into those deep blue eyes, a gift given to Olive from her father. Mom looks down, smiles, and feels a burning warmth fill her chest. She leans down and kisses the chubby crease of her daughters neck. The enchanting smell if her daughters breath, laundry detergent, and pear purée fills her nostrils, like a fresh spring morning. She hears tender giggles as she closes her eyes, trying to take in everything about this moment.
Mom leans back on the couch and sits Olive on her belly. Olive grins and grabs her mom's glasses. "Oh no! Oh no! She's going to eat me!" her mom gasps. Olive climbs up her chest, pulling her glasses off, and leaving drops of drool on her already stained t-shirt. Olive squeezes her mama's face and shrieks and squeals as mama pretends to be "eaten".
Mama takes up her baby once more in her arms, cradling her close. She then takes one hand up in the air and wiggles it "He's coming to get you!" She says as the tickling hand starts to work his way towards Olive's belly, a familiar game that grandpa played with the mama, years ago. Olive bats her eyes quickly, bows her head, and pulls her body tight together, as if to hide from the tickle hands. She giggles and gasps with the hands land on her belly and tickle their way up her sides to her pits. Olive lets out a high pitched "ahhhhhhhhhhhh". They both giggle. Mama closes her eyes and soaks in this laughter. Taking in this moment with her next breath. It is at this moment that she is not thinking about how tired she is, how sore her back is, how stained her clothes are, or how long its been since her baby napped. It is this moment, the time before she starts worrying about everything, crying because her daughter still wont nap, and complaining of her back ache, that she is in now. This moment that stops time, stops worry, stops thoughts. It is her fuel.
These are the moments that are cherished. These simple, pure, short moments that make life beautiful.
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