Butterfly Kisses

Tonight as I was putting Eric to bed he said, "Lay down, Mommy" as he patted the empty space on the pillow next to his head. I laid down next to that precious little head of curly blonde hair and blinked my eyes close to his cheek. He got really still and I told him that I gave him a butterfly kiss. He turned his head and said, "other" meaning that he wanted me to give him a butterfly kiss on the other cheek. "Butterfly kisses other, Mommy" he said. This went on for a while and I just smiled all over. Sometimes I am in a hurry to get him in the bed, then I quickly say prayers and then it is out of his room for me to putz around the house cleaning up, etc. But not tonight. As I laid there next to a little boy, who only yesterday seemed to be a newborn, I determined in my mind to let everything else go and just be. The house is still a wreck, but I taught my son how to give butterfly kisses. There is a cheesy song called "Butterfly Kisses" by a well known contemporary Christian singer/songwriter and when I first heard it, I thought the standard "awwwww how sweeeeeet - cheesy, but sweet". Forgive me, Mr. Carlisle. I must eat my words because now that I am a parent, I know why he had to write it. It is the same reason why I am writing now. Those moments he had with his beloved daughter were too precious just to keep tucked away in his memory. I write because I too, want to make those cherished moments with my son more solid. By writing it down, I remember it more and I have something to publish and share with him later on down the road.

Happy Howaleen!!

Yes, it is quite late here in Arizona and I am doing my blogging. Tim is working a night shift which means a late night for me, too. Why do I go to bed at a decent hour when he is home, but when he is gone (which is about 6 shifts per month) I stay up and just piddle around like a sleepless field mouse? I would love to receive your comments about this. Anyway, here is a picture of us on Howaleen. That is how Eric calls it. Eric was a clown and Amy was a strawberry. She really liked her collar. She told me later that it didn't taste much like a strawberry though.