Routine Bliss

I wake up.  It is light outside.  I can't find the clock.  He hears me stirring, and opens his eyes.  A little smile flashes across his face.  I make coffee while Dad takes over.

A few minutes later I find him sitting in his crib, playing with an inflated ball with a hard ball inside, two balls in one.  He is happy in spite of needing a fresh diaper.  I grab him up and he clings to the ball as I carry him to his changing table.   I change him and he plays all the while, ignoring me and focusing only on his toy.  I button him up and carry him to the living room, and set him down amongst other toys on the floor.  I sit with him. 

He takes a quick look around at his other options and continues playing with the ball, although he does release his grasp so that he can roll it around on the floor.  Soon he is lying down, rolling here and there while he plays.  Two quick rolls and he is hugging my leg.  He twists and reaches, batting the ball around, testing his skills.  Three rolls in the other direction and within a second he goes from my leg back to sitting a few feet away.

He picks up his new sippy cup and thumps it on the floor.  No water escapes.  He slams it into the TV stand, the floor, the Bounce, Bounce, Baby.  He drops the sippy and rolls around some more.  A blink and he is attacking a piece of furniture near the kitchen.  He grasps the small ring handle on the lowest drawer, fiddling with it.  It is now loose and needs to be tightened.  I roll him back to his toys.  A moment later and he is off in the opposite direction, chewing a power cord.  He is angry when I pull him away.  I laugh, and give him kisses.

Soon it is time to go.  I hug him close and kiss him too many times.  I should act like leaving is nothing, but it isn't.  I will miss him.  I wave goodbye through the window.  He notices me and then looks away, so curious about all the world has to offer, and this scene is one he sees every day.  He looks up at me a few more times before I am out of sight.  I say prayers that he will be safe until my return, and long after. 

A few short hours and I will be home again to see his little face in the window.  When I come close he will grab both of my cheeks and give me a 'kiss'.  It will be messy and I won't care.  He will tug on my hair and reach for me, and I will drop my things on the table so I can hold him close.

It is all I had hoped for and more.