Snapshot #1

There are some things that I wish I could take a snapshot of. Only, a camera cannot capture everything.

It is late. K and I have just come out of the kids' bedroom after their bedtime stories, good-night prayers, and I-love-you kisses.

This is the ritual: I walk out the door, calling out, "Good night! Mommy loves you! See you tomorrow." And they respond in kind. But then just before I close the door, J asks me to come in to check on him. Not to be outdone, E echoes the request, "Mama. Check. MEEEE!". And so I promise to return in a few minutes.

I close the door. And there is silence. But only for a few seconds. Soon, I hear their voices. Sometimes, I hear E clearly, singing her own little song. J shushes her. There is amusement in his "shhh", or exasperation if she's been singing for too long. Other times the murmurings are indistinct. I don't know what they are saying, just that they are talking to each other.

I think of doing the 'mom' thing. Should I poke my head in to shush them - they have school the next morning? But I am loathe to interrupt them. This is how they bond.

So I let them be for a while. There'll be times for shushing later on.