Pile of Leaves

We always have one good kid.  It rotates but there's always one over the weekend that is the angelic one and whoever that happens to be makes you fall in love with him or her all over again.  Well, this weekend it was the baby.  He was an absolute doll.  He was obedient, affectionate, and funny. 

He also has one secret power that the other two do not - his scent.  I know this is going to sound bizarre, but he has a scent, it's not good or bad it's just....him.  And it is the best drug you could possibly sniff. I remember my Mimi had it too.  I could always tell when she stayed with us and would beg my mom not to wash the pillow when she left because I could still smell her Mimi-ness on the pillowcase.  He has the same distictive smell and it makes me want to kiss his little face and neck all day long.  But I digress. 

Yesterday, we were outside playing a lot because the weather was just perfect.  For about an hour in the afternoon we were playing in the driveway.  We have a long driveway that the kids can ride their tricycles up and down, and they also collect rocks and run and climb the gate - curious kid stuff.  The wind had been blowing and had left quite a collection of leaves in its wake.  Well, the baby started collecting these leaves.  First, he put them in his dump truck for us to drive over to the trash cans and throw away.  But then he started making a little pile against the wall of the house where I was sitting.  I praised his lovely pile of leaves and it grew and then he came and sat with me.  He's a very funny active toddler but he was quite serious yesterday afternoon.  He looked deep in thought as he sat on the other side of the leaf pile - me and him, him and me.  The other two were riding around like wildmen, but he sat quietly, looking off into the sky and then back down at his leaves. 

It sounds random and mundane, but it was absolutely precious.  It was also so restful.  Here were all these options for busyness around him, yet he was content just sitting with the little pile of leaves he had collected.  It made my heart quiet.  My mind still.  The lists I make for the after-hours necessities were shelved.  And I just sat there with him in the quiet.  I did eventually hop up to grab a camera because I had to capture his face and the moment for all time. I'm sure all my picture snapping kind of killed his pondering, but he tolerated me nonetheless.  Here's the little face I got to sit with yesterday among the leaves: