Mommy

"Mommy!" he says. "Tell me a story abou'...abou'...abou'....abou'...abou'...abou'...(I kid you not, here)...abou'....abou'...(his hands wave in the air as his eyes search his thoughts)...abou'...abou'...abou'...abou' the Rack Pack Snack Bunny!!" Or "Abou' when I was in the grass and I looked down and there were mashed potatoes in the grass!!" Or "Abou' when you and me and Ty'yer (Tyler) were driving our cars around and mine was blue and yours was red and Ty'yer's was gween and we SMASHED them together." (Hands clap together in explanation.)

"Mommy!" he says. "Can you give me a hug?" Little arms wrap tightly around my neck as he clutches his mommy close.

"Mommy!" he says. "Can you s'eep (sleep) wif me?" I give him the stern eyeball.

"Gabriel", I say. "If Mommy lays with you, then you may not fuss when she gets up." He nods his assent. He knows the routine. We lay quietly for a few seconds, me on my stomach at the edge of the bed, facing away.

"Mommy!" he says. "Can you yay (lay) yike this?" I roll over and look at him. He lays on his back, arms open. With a maximum of effort, I heave myself over in the bed. Won't be too many more months where he'll be able to fit on my stomach. I wonder if by the time he can fit again he will still remember that he likes to cuddle like this. He creeps into my arms, giving me a sideways glance out of the corner of his eye, pressing his head to my shoulder, his fuzzy hair to my cheek. He rolls over, relaxed, waving his arms in the air, gesticulating a story that continues in his head that breaks through his lips now and then in quiet whispers. He rolls over again, and presses his face to mine. Over again, and his head is on my shoulder, contentedly.

I savor his weight, his stretching limbs, the fuzz of his buzzed haircut against my face, his soft skin, his limbs in constant motion, even here at the end of the day, the way he tucks his face into my neck. Today he talks in complete sentences, with adjectives and exclamatory remarks, and use of the word "necessary". Today he is grown into his 3T clothes, and careens around, limbs in full boy motion. Today he still needs his mommy.

So I lay. And cuddle. And snug. And press a kiss to his fuzz head. For tomorrow comes so quickly.