I was looking back through post drafts that I'd started but never finished. I found this picture with this title from back when we lived in the Chicago area, about ten years ago. I remember exactly what it was about, even though I had never added text beyond the title.
Phoebe and Sophie were still young enough that they weren't in school yet. They spent a lot of time playing pretend and running around in the backyard. On this day Phoebe had brought me this bouquet of dandelions and they'd ended up on the counter, next to the toy hair dryer.
It struck me then how fleeting this stage would be, the time of gathering dandelions and bringing them to mom with love and wonder. I'm glad that, even in the midst of the overwhelm and tired, I was aware that I should pay attention and notice the importance of these tiny moments.
And it's true, we are past the dandelion days. Topher will still occasionally bring me one of the yellow flowers, but we've mostly moved on to other stages. I love watching my kids learn and grow and become who they have the potential to be. But there's a sweet melancholy thinking about the exhaustion and happiness of the days when they were little.
