where does the time go?

goodness knows what happened to the month of feb, but here we are -- half way through march already. when the times passes so quickly in the mayhem of my busy life i am often reminded of a time when i was about eight or nine years old. a teacher in training came to visit our classroom and asked the class what was our favorite thing to do during the summer. one student said they liked to stay up late, passed their bedtime, another student said the summer months were too long. the teacher smiled and may have even given out a little laugh announcing that when we were older, "big people", there would be a time when we'd be glad for an early night and that the summer months of school vacation would not feel so long.

i remember thinking about this comment very seriously. i considered how my parents would literally fall asleep with the dinner tray on their lap, right in front of the television, and how tired they often appeared to be (which is no wonder when my father often worked a 70 hr week and my mother 35 hr week). now, a mother of two little ones i can totally appreciate what the teacher was saying. hopefully, i am far from falling asleep in front of the tv with a dinner tray on my lap but i have been known to nod off half way through a movie. i hasten to add this has happened as i've been snuggled up on the couch next to by warm bodied husband.

yesterday i watched my daughter, who is will be turning four in three months, fall asleep on the futon in her brother's room as he fell asleep in my arms. i doubt there will be such a moment again so it is nice to document a part of of here to help seal the memory of it. i studied maggie's face as her eyes slowly opened and closed before she drifted off to nah-nah land. i could see the baby face in her that i fell in love with when she was a newborn and i could see the young girl she was turning into, a juxtaposition of sorts. there was something timeless and magical about it. beautiful skin, gentle yet definite features. i looked at my son too. he was drifting off, partially latched on, curled up around my body and so, so big. big and long. it was harder to identify the features of his face, the features that will help identify him in baby photos when he's become a man. his skin and body are still so soft and gentle. i felt mixed emotions looking at him. a little sadness as i knew his newness was rapidly fading with time and a great amount of adoration for who he is (a very gentle soul) and a pinch of anticipation for who will turn into.

i sat for a long time holding ryan and watching maggie. there was a ton of things waiting for me to do outside the bedroom door but i wanted to live in the moment and soak it all up. i guess i decided that all those "things" waiting for me could keep on waiting. i was enjoying my time; sitting back and admiring.