never too tired to get the camera

So we are almost over the evil cold/cough thing that the baby has been struggling with this week. And I cannot wait for it to be done. I cannot wait to sleep though the night again. And I am so over the mucous. But mostly its the tiredness that is the hardest. I'll happily wipe up snot all day long if I can just have a solid night of sleep. And the Baby has been getting up a little earlier these days too, which on top of the two to three night time wake-ups, is not my favourite thing. I drag my sleepy self out of bed at an ungodly hour, and haul him out of the crib, peel off his sleep sack and he almost immediately runs out into the living room. What happened to our morning cuddle time, during which I might even catch a couple more minutes of sleep if I'm lucky? A thing of the past apparently. So I groggily follow his staggery little running body out to the living room, and lay myself down on the area rug to try and rest for just one more minute, before he needs something more than my quasi-conscious physical presence. And then I look up and see this:

There he is, silhouetted against the morning light, so sweet my little baby boy, and I jump up to go and get the camera. That's a shot I won't get again, and similarly, he'll only be my not-so-little-baby like this for a little while longer. I need to remember him like this. Even when I'm tired, he's still lovely.  

And there he stands, playing at his sand table. Every once in awhile he comes over to pat my head or climb over me and say ma-ma-mum. And then, suddenly its up the stairs and off to the kitchen for breakfast, and another day together has begun.   

Comments

[steph]

Dre: this post and your photos are beautiful.

[Cynthia]

i love the emotion in the picture/blog entry this week. i still remember so clearly 16 years ago having moment where i would so clearly know that the specific sweet stage I was in with my lovely child was passing so quickly, and often in those moments i was no where near my camera. On several occasions i recall that i worked hard to really focus my mind to take a mental "photo" and to store it very specifically so that it would always be with me. I don't know about "always" but i do still have a few of those mental photos stored from all three children. And all I can say is that I think most of us parents are hit with the lovely paradox of wanting to hold the moment, while knowing that growth and change are not only inevitable but also essential.... you captured that beautifully, soon you wil sleep through the night, and your little wonder of a boy will be doing completely amazing new and different things. he is so beautiful! Please give hime a kiss for his auntie!

[finger thumb]

I know what you mean, I try to do that mental photo thing too. I remember reading once in a Douglas Coupland book that the most effective way to do this is the reverse blink method where you close your eyes and then open them really fast, and then close them again. That way you imprint that second on your brain. I don't know if that is true or not. Mostly I just gaze lovingly and wonderingly at the person in the moment (usually baby or Hubs) I want to remember and then ritualistically say "remember this, remember this, remember this" three times like that in my head. Hope it works.

[Marcia Van Drunen]

lovely beyond works