I make my way downstairs. The carpet is rough against my toes. The sunshine is bright against my eyes.
Remnants of Brody’s birthday party remain. Scattered cups, new toys, loose balloons.
My heart is full of change and newness and the fact that my baby is three. Not really a baby at all.
And at the very same time my heart is empty -drained perhaps?- because of history and memories and aches and families where birth days will never be the same.
I lean my back against the counter, take in my heartstrings.
They sit side by side, knees touching, and I want to freeze this moment. Or at the very least slow it down and capture it.
They giggle and share and argue and tussle. And still, I want to hold it close.
Jason passes me my coffee. It steams between my fingers and I breathe it in. I glance back at my children. They dance between my heartbeats and I breathe them in, too.
That is the gift of this mothering life that we lead, isn’t it?
The magic is there in every nook and cranny. In bike rides and snuggles and birthdays and even raindrop shaped tears sliding down delicious pink cheeks. They’re just right there, these breaths of our hearts.
And I know this. I forget sometimes, but I do know. So I graze over the overflowing sink and the torn wrapping paper and I stay perfectly still drinking in the puzzle pieces of this Sunday morning.
*****
My friends Heather and Shell have asked writers to look for the magic and heart and soul in our lives and capture them with our words and our pictures.
Heather calls it her heart-gut and Shell calls it her Magic Moment. And you know exactly what they mean, don’t you? Me, too.
I’m linking up with
-and-
Beautifully written Galit.
Happy Birthday to your little man
What a gorgeous picture, what a gorgeous moment to share with us my friend.
Thank you for sharing your magic moment and picture with us Galit. Beautifully written as always!
What a great moment this morning – especially today! Glad you were able to enjoy it and breath them in.
Oh Galit….your words are like glorious warm sunshine. Good for the soul.
The puzzle pieces of the morning… and life. This is so right. And perfect.
LOVE the way you tied the memes together too, my friend!
Glad Brody had a good party! Happy Birthday to him. xo
My baby willbe three at the end of the month. I’m not ready for it. This is beautiful.
Such beautifully written…thank you so much for sharing this special moment in your life!
Happy birthday to your little boy. 😀
Wow, love your entry! So inspiring, poetic.
Sorry for not replying sooner. I wasn’t feeling well. Thank you so much for leaving a comment over at my blog. I truly appreciate it!
Love your blog! I bookmarked it!
So beautifully written Galit and also so true, yesterday was such a strange day. The ordinary seemed different somehow with the tug of history following us all day.
Beautiful magic moment.
Happy birthday to your little guy
My girlfriend had her youngest’s third birthday party yesterday, and I agree that it was a strange juxtaposition of feelings. Thanks for sharing this!
It’s rare to capture such a moment so well in both word & picture – thank you for sharing it!
Definitely a magic moment to see children playing together!
Enjoyed your magic moment Galit.
The simplest, quietest moments are my most favorite too. So lovely that you captured this one.
This is so beautifully written. You have an amazing talent for writing! My eldest just turned three and it nearly killed me. I just want to freeze time and keep them as little as they are.
Hi Galit,
Thank you for sharing this beautiful reflection on the simplicity and complexity of life. I wish I could do this more often, live completely in the moment with my kids; if only it didn’t take the remembrance of a tragedy for me to hold them a little bit closer.
xo
Each day is a blessing and a gift, and it’s beautiful to see that you cherish yours so dearly. Happy Birthday to your 3-year old!
Such a beautiful reflection. I can relate to the empty but full feeling of the day.
Ahh, I know exactly what you mean! for me, it was yesterday when my baby fell asleep on my lap. I just smelled his little head and rubbed his back and tried to capture that moment forever! Just knowing that someday he wont’ want to sit on my lap at all….
Beautifully written! Love it. Easy to not notice the magic in the everyday. Thanks!
Your moment truly was magic!
Not only is your Magic Moments picture beautiful and full of so much, but your words are, too! I really, really enjoyed reading this and going through those emotions with you.
Beautiful!
I tend to forget all the sweet little moments and instead get overwhelmed by the craziness.
Such a great post- thanks for linking up!
What a special magic moment to share with us! Watching our kids together is something I wish we could all pause and watch forever.
Happy birthday to your son. Children bless our lives with so many magical moments, we just have to be able to recognize them sometimes.
So beautifully written and what a beautiful picture. Happy Birthday to your little guy! I’m glad you took a moment to take it all in. When I take moments like that they are forever in my memory.
What a great moment so beautifully expressed. Sometimes the most magical moments are the calm, quiet ones.
This is such a sweet post…we’ve all been there, haven’t we?? Love this picture!!
Oh Galit…I can picture your morning and it is perfection! Much love to you…
Our children give us such sweet little blessings. This was beautiful, Galit! xo
Amazing post as always. I think everybody needs a 3-year-old in their lives.
Sandy
You ladies are inspiring me to look within the depths of my soul and see what’s there…I love this. Beautiful. Just beautiful.
There is magic in every nook and cranny of this post.
Beautiful. “These breaths of our heart.” Love that.
I love the thought of the dance between heartbeats… yes.
I can’t decide what I love more. – this lovely post or the inspiring comments I’ve seen you leave on the blogs in these linked posts. I wish you were my neighbor.
<3
“They’re just right there, these breaths of our hearts.”
Oh! That was so very lovely, and I can fully connect to that very moment. Wonderful writing, and living in the moment.
Alita
Absolutely captured me and brought me in!! Love this.
I love how you capture the magic and beauty of motherhood with your words.
I haven’t experienced those things yet, but I will-and soon. Your description makes my heart swell with appreciation for those upcoming moments and love for my son.
Enjoy those perfect, magic, simple moments. They are the best.
*deep sigh*
I love how you paint with your words.
I love this, Galit.
This past Sunday evening, my husband built a bonfire in our backyard while it was still light out.
Then my family of four sat in cushioned chairs around the fire pit with our books and we read quietly as the sky darkened.
We watched the stars emerge, the moon rise (big and fat and almost full); the flames were bright and warm.
We talked a bit and we were silent. We celebrated being together. For us. And for those who can’t be together anymore.
Except in their hearts.
That’s where the magic is, anyway.
and I call it Exploding a Moment. This is so lovely, my friend. So beautiful.
I can’t get enough of just watching Eddie be 2 sometimes. Even when he is driving me nuts, I try to remember “he’s being 2 and he will never be 2 again.”
Thank you for this beautiful reminder.
Awww, so beautiful, Galit!! Love the last part “drinking in the puzzle pieces…”.
What a touching post! I love this picture!!
OH, how I loved this: “They dance between my heartbeats and I breathe them in, too.”
I loved all of it. You truly have a gift for writing.
Beautiful.
-xo
-Ellie
Love those memories captured forever to be remembered and cherished. Love this line: ” I stay perfectly still drinking in the puzzle pieces” Thanks for sharing this moment.
Lovely.
It’s so great when we stop and just be still long enough to catch a magic moment! Great post!
I love your description, especially the delicious pink cheeks! Like you, I am forgetful often of the little moments, but I know and I see them. And each and every time they never fail to blow my mind.