Hugs

Dear Girls,
Have I ever told you that you give the best hugs?  Both of you.  Well, to be honest... these days not so much Hazel because she would prefer to cuddle up as small as she can (which is no small feat given her genetics) in my lap and have me hug her.

But Millie... oh my, she lurves giving hugs.  Complete with the pat on the back as if to say, "Yes, yes I know... it will be alright.  My hug will fix it.  Kthanxbai!" before running off to lick the garbage can.

The best is when Millie is chasing Hazel throughout the house and Hazel is laughing uncontrollably - because if there's one thing that both of my girls love, it's to be chased - when suddenly I realize that Millie's yelling isn't  all fun and games... it's concern.  Concern bordering on outright tragedy.  Because she just wants to hug her sissy... and her sissy keeps running away from her like she's got a booger hanging out of her nose.  Which she does... but that's beside the point.

Every single parent on earth will agree that watching two little kids hug out of love or friendship is the single greatest part about parenting. Second place goes to forcing kiddos to hug when they're fighting... as punishment.  Not nearly as cute, but makes up for a lot of nonsense you endure as a parent.... with the added benefit of giving your kids something to talk about in therapy 20 years from now.

But, yes... unless you're made of stone, watching kids hug is natures way of patting a mom or dad on the back and saying:  "See? All those poopy diapers and sleepless nights?  TOTALLY WORTH IT, HUH?"  It's even better when the two munchkins doing the hugging are sisters.  Spontaneously.  No nudging from Mommy to do it.

Unless, of course, one of them is crying because she wants a hug and Mommy has to get the other one to stop before it can occur.  Which is what we call Tuesday in our house.  And, after the hug, the two of you are again on your way... laughter lighting up each room you race into.  Were it not 20 degrees outside right now, flowers would bloom and birds would stop what they were doing to listen to that beautiful sound... before singing a song in a desperate bid to match its loveliness.

As it is, I just sit here with my coffee.  Feeling happy.  Feeling blessed.  And hoping that the next hug... is mine.

Love,
Mama