Maybe it's true

Someone told me today that I hold Princess Mag-pie more than I did Princess Belle. That a lot of the reason that she is sooo clingy and such a mommy's baby is my own fault. I protested that it was her personality. She is just that way. And, in part, I do think that is true.

But on reflection, maybe there is more to it than that. Maybe the fact that Princess Belle is now 6 years old and I know just how fleeting this can be is a part of the reason I tend to hold Princess Mag-pie just a little closer. Every time I hold her, I remember just how fast they grow up. I sniff the top of her head and I feel the weight of her in my arms and I remember how not so very long ago Princess Belle was just this size. Princess Mag-pie is so sweet and gentle and happy and wonderful. And I know in just a little while she will be running around the house with no time to be bound up in mommy's loving arms. I want to soak up this babyhood. I want it to last as long as possible. I want to know that when she is older, I will have all these wonderful memories to hold on too.

And when I do get overwhelmed and tired, I just stop and remember that it took me 5 years of waiting to get here. All that waiting and stress and crying and longing culminated in this wonderful little girl. This wonderful girl who will grow up much too fast. And suddenly it is no big stress that she longs to be in my arms. It is no big stress to come to her when she cries. She looks into my eyes with those beautiful eyes and that big gummy grin and my entire heart is in her tiny little hands.