Little People

There are these two little people in my life.
I have this little girl. And she is a Universe. Irrepressible. Bright. Witty. And razor sharp. Ev is this little rocket of a person, always on, always burning. Burning for the next thing, the next holiday. Each person has their own smell and if you are lucky enough to have Ev sit on your lap for a few stolen moments, rare quiet ones, and you can lean over and press your face against her hair, you will catch a whiff of her scent under the shampoo. She has this smell of hot cinders in a fireplace.
If you sneak into her room at night and watch her sleeping that's the only time you will find her still. Just laying there in her pink room, her mind a million miles away on fantastic journeys that she will surely tell you about in the morning. At these times you can lean in and press your face against hers and listen to her breathe for a bit. In. Out. Sigh. Don't stay too long though, she will sense you there, up close, and she will start to stir. While you are leaned in close you will notice that she smells a bit different at night, she smells a bit sweeter and cooler. You are catching bits of her dreams that have tangled up in her hair.
She will smile at you sometimes, and you will forget every single thing but those dimples and that sparkle in her eye. You will see her perfect white teeth all in a row and wonder at the order of the universe.
She can come to you in moments of sadness or weariness and silently climb onto your lap and look into your eyes and just by being there,  make it all all right.
She is an old, old soul all wrapped up in the tiny body of a little girl.

I have this little boy. I still don't really know him yet. I do know that he is a sensitive boy. Easily wounded, easy to forgive. He is this chubby ball of cuddle. Every morning I lift him out of his crib and creep back though the chill in the house, back to my bed. I tuck him in, right up close to my body and he just goes limp. We lay there, the cat at our feet, our breath mingling and he whispers sweet baby secrets to me. I love to kiss him right under his fat cheeks, on his sweet warm neck. He loves that too, he will giggle and turn his head so I can kiss the other side. I know that he is teaching me things about myself. I know that things are tough now, but in a way so easy. So very easy.

I have these two little people in my life and I am their Mama. Many responsibilities hang over my head: teaching them to read and write, teaching right from wrong, helping them think for themselves...the list goes on. There is one responsibility though that is bigger and more important than them all and that is to love them. Somehow the loving of them seems to be the easiest thing.