August 22, 2011

• My Darling Dear

  The air wafts in from the open windows as we go down the hall.  The summer evening is cooling, and the breeze whispers of fall.  I help a pajama-ed Zion get into bed, tucking his sippy cup of water between his two pillows and pulling his quilt up over him like he likes, while hoisting a squirmy Layla on my hip.  She’s wearing a ducky outfit.  I pray:

  “Jesus, thank you soooo much for Zion; I love him so much.  Keep him safe and healthy and give him a deep, deep hunger in his heart for You.  Amen.”

  “I wanna give you a kiss, Mama,” Zion says, looking up at me from his bed.

  In the dim light from the hallway, I get down and he puts his mouth against mine, then carefully puckers up.  I think he is done, and start to pull away, but he fusses for me to let him finish.  Ok.  I resume my place, holding an interested Layla a few inches from the blankets, and he resumes his pucker and finishes with a little smacking kiss.  Oh my.  So dear.  

  “Do you want to give Layla a kiss too?” I ask.  Yes, he does. Layla gets the same careful treatment on her plump cheek.  

  “Can I have one more kiss?” I ask, and receive one more.  Mouth, pucker, kiss.  Melt.  Melt.  Melt.  ”I love you very very much,” I tell him as I turn to walk away, smiling warmly at his sweet face and blond curls.

  “I love you bery bery much too, Mom,” he says, quite earnestly, as he lies on his pillow with his quilt pulled up to his chin, greedily cramming his fuzzy green animal blanket under his nose like he does, looking at me with dark serious eyes.  

  Lately, his thing has been to fling his arms around my legs and say, “Mommy!!  I love you SO MUCH!!!”  He does this with all of us.  

  I love you, too, my son.  SO very much.  

  • 9:48 pm
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