My cup runneth over

These days my days are packed full to the brim.

From the moment I wake up to the sound of Grace calling through the baby monitor and Nathan’s cheeky face peering at me over the edge of the bed… to the evening when I finally tuck them into bed and say goodnight.

Days filled with cooking, cleaning, feeding, washing, playing, nursing, cuddling, reading, teaching, cajoling, instructing, refereeing, observing, listening, tickling, laughing, hugging, loving. Then rinse and repeat.

Three years ago I was lamenting over the end of the era of just us two.

And I discovered that two plus one is simply so much more amazing.

Then last year I found myself wondering how I could love another little person as completely as I love this sweetest little guy in the world.

And now I know how it’s done.

Your heart simply grows. Bigger, stronger, wider, deeper.

One morning, while I was outside hanging up the washing with the kids, Nathan asked me to make a tent for him. So I draped a sheet over our play slide and he scurried inside happily. Then he asked if Grace could join him inside the ‘tent’. So I picked Grace up and sat her in the Bumbo chair next to him.

I heard some muffled sounds and giggles emitting from under the sheet. And then came the most delightful thing I ever heard --the sound of baby laughter, mingled with her big brother’s big hearty laugh.

The feeling I had when I heard their two laughs together was indescribable.

I had never heard Grace laugh that way before. Lots of giggles and chuckles, yes. But never like this throw-your-head-back, eyes closed, completely wide open kind of laughter. And it was her big brother who made it.

Seeing these two together always makes my heart so full that I’m almost bursting at the seams.

I love them both together. And I also love each one individually and completely.

My cup runneth over.

 

It’s Saturday morning.

I wake up to the sound of Grace calling through the baby monitor,
And Nathan’s cheeky face peering at me over the edge of the bed,

Afterwards I find myself squish amidst a tangle of little arms and legs,
With another big arm wrapped protectively around us all,

And my cup runneth over.

 

I remember when I could read an entire
chapter, some days even an entire book
at one sitting without interruptions.

I remember when I could work for hours
at a time in my study;
the hours were dependent on me
not on nap.

I remember when I knew no one with children
and had no idea what 2T meant.

And I remember when no one called me mommy
and when no little arms wrapped themselves
around my neck, no little kisses or hugs were mine.

And I prefer today.

(Susan Holton)

 

 

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