"Once in a young lifetime one should be allowed to have
as much sweetness as one can possibly want and hold."
- Judith Olney
Mollie-girl,
I've been holding you a lot lately. Yes, I sometimes explain this as clinginess or neediness. But the truth is, I love being needed by you. And I love and want to remember exactly how it feels to hold you.
The way you rest a firm, pudgy hand on my shoulder and swivel your head around to inspect the world.
The way you pretend to be shy and bury your head against me when you meet people. (And the way you pop back up a second later with a huge smile for them.)
The way you slowly kick your legs against my stomach when you're generally pleased.
The way you pat my back when I'm patting yours.
The way you react to walking outside: legs furiously kicking and arms hitting me in the happiest display of abuse you've ever seen.
The way you use my collarbone as a chew toy. I mean, it makes you happy, but ouch.
The way you dive-bomb my face for a slobbery kiss.
The way you nuzzle and slowly let your whole body melt against mine as you fall asleep.
Your dad can tell you that sometimes after a long day of holding you, I'll ask him to take you for a while. Or when you're asleep in your crib I'll make a big show of stretching my arms and laughing about how good it is to have two free limbs again. But he'll also tell you that, more often than not, after a bit of this I'll say, "I miss her!" And he'll ask: "Do you want to go get her?"
The answer's always yes, Mollie-girl.
I've been holding you a lot lately. Yes, I sometimes explain this as clinginess or neediness. But the truth is, I love being needed by you. And I love and want to remember exactly how it feels to hold you.
The way you rest a firm, pudgy hand on my shoulder and swivel your head around to inspect the world.
The way you pretend to be shy and bury your head against me when you meet people. (And the way you pop back up a second later with a huge smile for them.)
The way you slowly kick your legs against my stomach when you're generally pleased.
The way you pat my back when I'm patting yours.
The way you react to walking outside: legs furiously kicking and arms hitting me in the happiest display of abuse you've ever seen.
The way you use my collarbone as a chew toy. I mean, it makes you happy, but ouch.
The way you dive-bomb my face for a slobbery kiss.
The way you nuzzle and slowly let your whole body melt against mine as you fall asleep.
Your dad can tell you that sometimes after a long day of holding you, I'll ask him to take you for a while. Or when you're asleep in your crib I'll make a big show of stretching my arms and laughing about how good it is to have two free limbs again. But he'll also tell you that, more often than not, after a bit of this I'll say, "I miss her!" And he'll ask: "Do you want to go get her?"
The answer's always yes, Mollie-girl.
Love this.
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