Bins filled with photographs
of
Swaddled babies nesting and nursing,
pink skinned and sleeping like angels
gentle smiles from dreams of light and love and soft places
Wrapped in homemade blankets
with satin edges I replaced several times
then
Toddling across green grass and front porches
with adults' outstretched arms
reaching to break the fall
Or swinging you round and round
your legs flying behind you
until you or we were both dizzy
Years counted by candles on cakes
wearing crowns until you found them too silly
Smiling as you unwrapped gifts under trees
that we found in the woods near our house
wherever we were
and decorated with paper chains and seashells and rose hips strung on fine lines
Bird nests and starfish at the top
Ornaments you made at school and signed on the back so that we would never forget
I will never forget
First days at school, waiting for buses
and missing teeth
Swinging bats and dance recitals
Full theaters
basketball courts and ice rinks
Field after field
sometimes slippery from rain or
under sunny skies so bright
that the brim of your hats
or mask from your helmet couldn't keep you from squinting
when you saw me at the edge clicking away
with my heart pounding no matter what the score
There was a rule about me calling out so that you could hear hear me
I couldn't
And it was ok, as long as I was there
and you knew it
Graduations and proms
Homecomings
and
I wonder if you know how much I agonized
Until I heard you come through the door
You always did
and here you are
Having arrived at your lives.
You have arrived at your lives.
And I could not be prouder.
And I could not be prouder.
