Steal my breath

Do you know that old saying, "Life's not about the breaths you take, but the moments that take your breath away,"? I had one of those moments this morning, and I thought I would share it here. It was particularly sweet because I rang in the New Year last night with a wicked case of food poisoning. Definitely not my best New Year's Eve, although I do have an amazing husband who doted on me dutifully:) (We narrowed it down to either bad lunch meat or a bad glass of wine at dinner, but luckily I was the only one affected)

...

We're alone in the quiet morning hours, holding hands and sharing Blues Clues. I lean over on the couch and press my lips to Ava's tiny ear.
"I have a secret," I whisper.
Her eyes light up as she gasps, "What? What is it?" She's breathless and giddy by the idea of something new.
"I...love...you. So much," I mumble against her cheek.
"Mommy!" she giggles. "That's not a secret, I already know that!" Ava rolls her eyes, something she must have learned from me. "Mommy, I wove you too, you my best friend!"

It's so simple. And my breath catches in my throat as her words squeeze my heart like a tight little fist. I want her to promise me that we will always be this way. Her life is so full of truths, everything in black and white. She has nothing yet to regret. The moment and the meaning absolutely take my breath away, steal it like a punch in the gut, and I wish I could bottle up this feeling and wear it on a chain around my neck. She's always been my more affectionate child, I would never dare hope for these special words from her brother,we have a different sort of love. Not less, just different. And in the still of the morning, the world dark outside, I wrap her sweet words around me like a soft and downy blanket. The moment will be gone soon, and she will likely never remember it, but I will keep it in my pocket always.

And on a belated note, here are some Christmas pictures--finally! Chuck and I aren't in a single one of these, we were probably wrapping our bloody hands from spending an entire morning wrestling toys out of ridiculous packaging. Ok...I'm exaggerating (but toy companies really need to start becoming more environmentally conscious with their packaging!) We had a fantastic Christmas, quiet and lovely and Santa spoiled our children (ok, ok, we are the guilty spoilers;) It was perfect.

I hope all of you have a fantastic New Year! We're excited and ready for a calm and peaceful (hopefully!) 2011!