Little Boys

All of you moms out there know what it's like to suddenly get a view of your children that reveals how much they've grown, don't you? I got one of those moments today. There's this perfect moment when the sun starts to set around dinner time at my house. It spreads itself out all gold and warm across the westerly rooms of my house. My son, who is 9, asked me for a backrub (he's sore from his heavy bookbag!) and he laid on my bed, and as I rubbed his sweet young skin, the sunlight gently crept across my bed and landed on his little man shoulders. This all happened in a matter of five minutes - the "changing of the light" is fleeting, which is part of why it's so special.
All of a sudden, looking at the back of his head, I remembered what he was like when he was two and when he was five and even last year. My heart just broke. I remember how his little body used to curl up next to mine on a regular basis. How I knew what his skin felt like and took it for granted. How I even sometimes just wished for a moment with nobody touching me. He gave me a big hug before we got up. The light was just passing. It struck me that he is almost the same size as I am now.
I'm young, and he still has much growing to do, but I think I'm starting to get it. I have begun to understand that bittersweet separation between a mom and her boy. And though my heart broke, I'm not entirely sure that it didn't mainly burst out of pride for who he is becoming and the matchless joy of holding him close to me one more time.
So, the changing of the light is fleeting, but so is my little boy. And I don't get to have another chance to catch it tomorrow, you know?
DAILY BLISS:
I love taking baths! I mean - I really love taking baths. I have taken to bathing in coconut milk - I just love how it makes my skin feel. Now, I usually add a little rum extract for a nicely scented bath, but today, on recommendation from none other than Becky, I added almond extract instead. It smelled like a macaroon! And when I stepped out, I almost felt like I was a warm, toasted coconut cookie. Yum!

<3 Christy