{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Inspired by Amanda.

Alright. I know this is cheating and opposite the point of {this moment}, but the perfect moment from this week wasn't one I captured with the camera. So, here's the prose version:

We were in the backyard, soaking up the afternoon sun despite fall's nip in the air. I sat on the back deck with River on my lap, watching Liam dig in the raised garden bed. He was, of course, naked and covered with patches of dirt.

Then a gust of wind blew through the neighbor's maple tree, rattling the not-so-glorious-this-year leaves still on the branches. Liam stood up, listening, watching.

And when the wind gusted down around him, startlingly brisk, he threw back his head and started howling. Like a wolf turned to the moon. Like Dahlia, our beagle, responds to a siren. Like a wild one.

And when the wind stopped, as suddenly as it had descended, Liam turned to look at me. He smiled and went back to his digging.

...

Lately, I need all of these remarkable moments I can get with Liam. Because most of his moments are more trying than precious. Like the other morning when I awoke to discover that Liam had already gotten up, and instead of coming upstairs to get me like he usually does, he got the matches out of the kitchen drawer, dumped all three boxes on the kitchen table, and successfully lit one from the pile! Apparently, the lone match had burnt out before causing any significant damage, he'd lost interest, and I found him playing in the front yard. Aaah! and Aaah! again.

So now the matches are kept on top of the refrigerator. We still need to get a child-proof lock for the front door...

Recently, I was reading You are Your Child's First Teacher, and came upon the best description of Liam's personality that I have yet to find. Regarding the character traits of the precocious child, i.e. Liam, he is overly awake.

Liam has such an exuberance for life. Such a strong drive to discover the world around him: its limits, its boundaries, its gifts.

I don't want to squash him.

And so I struggle, daily, to find that balance between loving guidance and freedom to let him be. Most of the time I think it's getting better. My attitude, that is. In the meantime, Liam is turning on the garden hose, and putting it inside the house through the doggie door.