Finding Their Treasures

June 26, 2019

Sorting and packing.

Once upon a time, photography was my thing. I used a real DSLR, every day. One year I did a photo project and a photo book at the end of the year. In fact, all those photos plus my late nights spent nursing and snuggling babies inspired much of my blogging (way back in the day. Really. It was at least 12 years ago.)

📷 Now I rarely pick up the DLSR. In some ways it feels sad; I’ve become less intentional about photos and memory-saving. I rarely blog family stories anymore, because as my babies grow into tweens and teens, I hold their stories very sacred and ponder them in my heart. Their stories are for them to tell, when they want and to whom they want.

But this little image? This is a sample of what my Firecracker (kid number 5) collects and saves in his dresser drawers. 💕 I mean, how cute is he to save a California poppy along with tiny erasers he brought home from school, a LEGO figure, and a kinder egg toy?

The poppy is one of many flower blossoms he’s collected on our weekly walks to Mass. He handed me a rose bud on Mother’s Day, claiming it was on the ground (but I still think he plucked it from the bush). I kept it in a water-filled shot glass for a week. The poppy also reminds me of the dozens of leaves he’s collected in the last few years, bunching them in his hand and turning them into bouquets to give me.

The LEGO figure (among dozens of random pieces also in his dresser) reminds me of the incredible cars he’s built. Firecracker likes building the special sets, but he loves to take mixed bricks and build from his imagination. He’s built tractors, cars, trucks, and more. His vision and determination to bring his imagination to life are incredible.

Gosh I love that kid.

So, I’m documenting this for my own heart. This is one of those moments that I’m cherishing and calling a blessing during this crazy packing and moving season. Five year olds are among the sweetest and silliest, and I want to treasure these memories always.

Good thing I did. Now he’s had a birthday and turned 6 since I drafted this post. Our house is packed up and empty. Even the finger marks and dirty handprints have been wiped away. Random legos and old bits of leaves and blossoms have been picked up and swept away. But I have this snapshot and the delightfully cheesy warm-fuzzy mama memories, now recorded for safe-keeping.

-July 10, 2019