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Friday, November 10, 2006

Empathy

When I came home from giving a work presentation on Thursday, I found my son playing outside with his babysitter. He wasn't playing ball. He wasn't riding his new tricycle.

He was trying to put the fallen leaves back on the trees.

"I fix the trees, Mommy," he said, in a very serious tone. "The leaves fall down. All the leaves are down on the ground. I fix them."

How long will this sweetness last? How long can it last, in this world, in a boy?

It's times like these I want to wrap him in an impenetrable armor of love, freeze him in love, preserved, in his untarnished innocence, like a butterfly in amber.

But I can't. And I shouldn't try.

(And I can't.)

But I can write about it.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Trying to rehang fallen leaves???

So.darn.cute!

Lisa said...

Awww. Doesn't that give you lots of warm fuzzies?

You're a wonderful mommy. He's so loving and kind because you are such a great example.

the mad momma said...

That made me all teary-eyed. Children make you feel so jaded and old. And yet so free and happy and fresh when they are around. Enjoy it for as long as you can.

Blog Antagonist said...

What sweet, kind soul he must be. That gave me a smile today. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Writing about it IS preservation.

God, he's adorable.

Perstephone said...

That is just precious and it warms my heart. It is also so wise of you to recognize that you can't preserve him forever. Enjoy his innocent ways now!

Rebecca said...

So Sweet.

MrsFortune said...

See these days that's what they call "emo" and it's really, really cool, so no worries! It'll help him with the ladies in high school.

Her Bad Mother said...

Oh, my god. That made my heart squeeze.

So lovely.

Jaelithe said...

Mrs. Fortune, I shall rely on you to keep me up on what all the cool kids are doing these days.

Anonymous said...

That is just too sweet. A tree hugger is born!

My daughter recently told me she didn't want to kill bugs anymore because they may be "old souls." Like you, I wonder how much longer this can last. How much longer, until like me, she starts yelling "KILL IT!!!" whenever she sees a fly?

GIRL'S GONE CHILD said...

What a doll. What a wonderful little person.

Anonymous said...

I've often felt the same way about my son, now 2.75yrs old. He's just the SWEETEST THING EVER and I rue the day that this changes. If only we could bottle up their sweetness and sprinkle a little on them each year as they grow...