I remember this day, sitting out on the front porch with Naomi, letting her get used to her surroundings. She's always hesitant around something new, and on this day she didn't love the concrete and kept studying the bench too. It was beautiful outside, a feeling of warmth and spring being right around the corner. We had just come home from grocery shopping, and the Starbucks inside the store had called my name, so now I sat outside sipping my caramel macchiato, and Naomi enjoyed the fresh air next to me.
These moments, when all your senses are alive and you are completely present, are so rare and so fleeting. As a parent, I love being busy, love working on something and accomplishing it. I love being able to check things off my list. It feels good when at the end of the day I'm tired in my bones, and I go to bed knowing my day was full and I did all I could and tomorrow is a new day. It feels good to use your body, to use your hands to clean and carry and wipe tears away. There is dignity in working hard. I love taking care of my family. But the fact that these four humans rely on me so much right now, and demand of me physically no less, doesn't leave me much time for slowing down and reflection. It has to be a conscious decision with intentional effort behind it. That's why I am thankful for the moment in these pictures, spent with my baby by my side. As Henry David Thoreau said it,
"Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of the earth."
xoxo,
Tanya
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