You know those moments, when your belly is large and round and you slide your hands over it and feel the foot sticking out here and the hand pushing out there and you dream up an entire life for the baby inside? And you picture the moments that you’ll share and the kind of human that little one will be and you pre-program the memories that you want. Afternoons at the park with sunlit hair flying as the swing sways back and forth. Evenings spent chatting over a counter full of homework and dinner prep. Games of tag and hide and seek and birthday parties and family vacations.

I dreamed of all of those moments. And I dreamed of this one.

Little girl, loose strands of hair falling about her face, legs tucked under and around her, surrounded by paints and brushes and her own ideas and muses and inspirations and creations.

She needed to create this poster for school. All about her. Photos and words and we let her keep going with paint and stickers. Perhaps we were supposed to help more, write the words for her, direct her in some way. But we didn’t. My involvement stopped once the placemat was spread out on the floor, the watercolors placed beside her, and the cup of water filled and ready to use. M bustled about the kitchen, the baby slept, I folded laundry, and she went about painting and creating while The Lumineers filled the house with hey’s and ho’s.

I love those moments when we’re all together but quiet and separately busy. Individually working but close enough for a, “Hey can you come taste this?” or “Mommy, do you like my poster?!” Yeah, we get far fewer of them now than we used to but it’s only a matter of time before baby boy settles in and begins living the memories I’ve already dreamed for him (not to mention the ones he will make up all on his own).

“I belong with you, you belong with me, you’re my sweetheart.” ~ The Lumineers

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Today I’m linking up with Alison and Galit for Memories Captured. As Alison explains on her blog “Wrapped inside the gift of blogging is the chance to capture our moments -our lives, our children, our memories- with our words and our pictures.” Of course, I agree with every single piece of that and couldn’t have said it better myself. Memories captured is why I write. Thanks, ladies, for this lovely inspiration.