a reminder to myself

i am about to have baby number 4, and you are fairly exhausted. the kids i am already raising are keeping me up late. once great sleepers, campbell and mason seem to be pushing to stay up late. campbell upset mason tonight by taking her night light out of its spot and putting it 2 feet away from her head. i went up and switched the night lights, told campbell that he couldn't move her night light and tucked mason back in bed. only to hear her cry out mere moments later in pain. i found her standing in her room, tears running down her face.

somehow she had grabbed the bulb on the night light and burned her little finger. she insisted on a band-aid between her sobs. i moved her into the bathroom and gently turned the cold water on. she let me hold her hand under the water and she slowly calmed down. and as i knelt next to her and watched her little eyes following the movement of the water and slowly start to smile as the pain cooled off, i realized how precious this little moment was. she was so upset just a few moments before and now she was happy, enjoying the cool water as it ran over her hands. every know and then she would glance over at me and smile. she was completely safe in my care and she knew it.

she still wanted a band aid when she was done, and kept telling me that my band-aids were not any good, and that she had to have a curious george one.

i realize this story seems really non-exciting. but it just hit me how these tiny, precious moments only last a minute and then they are gone. i won't remember this in the months/years later, except now that i have written it down i have the memory saved.

mason, my sweet little girl. she talks and talks and talks, and in this moment she just stood and let me help her.

i know i won't remember every moment of my children's precious childhood as it whisks past me, but i do need to be better at writing these little things down, so that i can transplant myself back to this night.