Sometimes all I need do is see a picture like this, and I am reminded of how sweet this girl is. Despite her messy 'working in the backyard' hair, and garden dirt on her nose, I see such innocence in her 2 year old face. I see her kind loving heart that she showers on us and moments filled with whimsical laughter and tender kisses.
I could now show some other pictures like THESE ones (the not so happy ones) and talk about the other faces Jasmin shows, but, that's not what this is really about so I won't :)
I recently read a blog post called 'sweet and sour'. It was essentially a mother talking about the extreme behaviours of her child. Sweetest of the sweet, and the "I can't believe you just did that" sour.
It resonated so deeply with me. So often I am amazed at the loveliness of my girl. I watch her and my heart swells with happiness. Other times I feel so frustrated and can do nothing but take lots of deep breaths and remind myself to "keep calm and carry on" (every mothers mantra.....no? :)
It would be easy to say we love our children because they are 'sweet, lovely, innocent, well behaved, 'the perfect child' etc. But that just wouldn't be true. Not for me anyway. While certain behaviours (especially the sweet ones) make some aspects of life easier, that's not the reason why we love our kids. It's not the reason why I love my kids. I love them because they're mine. Because I am their mother. That wonderful relationship that allows such unconditional love, even in the sour moments.
As I sit here looking at Jasmin's little face now (oh how I ADORE this picture), all I see is the extreme sweet side. the "thank you VERY much mummy for my drink" said so angelically it makes my heart burst, and the "you're the best in the world mummy" comments, or the memory of watching her share everything she has in her lunchbox with a little friend at church.
In the words of a woman who is inspiring mothers everywhere, I remind myself that, "this 'two' shall pass". Jasmin won't always be in the middle of the terrible (sometimes-I-cry-all-day) two's. Yesterday was a testament of that. It was a delightful day of no tantrums, no shouting and no crying. She was just happy. It was a lovely reminder that as this little girl grows older, some things will change. Funnily enough, as I think about that change, I have such mixed emotions. While I like the thought of having less crying in my days (from her that is :) It's sad to think that she won't always be 2, because it's such a CUTE funny age.
I'm so grateful I was able to capture this look on Jasmin's face to remind me of the beautiful little spirit she is and the innocence that is possessed by a 2 year old.
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8 comments:
thanks for sharing felicity, i completely agree,
Love the photo Felicity. I have days like that with Zak but never with Charli. She was the perfect child up until the age of 5 or maybe soon to be 6. I kind of wish she did not have a mind of her own sometimes. But we do love them.
this is so beautiful listy!
looking again, sooo beautiful!! i wish i could capture these kinds of pictures of my little ones.
ohhh so pretty. her face is so genuine. :)
So true, we don't love out children because.... I went through the terrible twos and I am about to do it again. My son was very systematic in his behaviour, he'd have one tantrum a day which lasted exactly 1 hour. We were walking on egg shells before the tantrum (not that we ever managed to prevent it), but then once it was over that was it, he would be happy for the rest of the day. A couple of weeks before he turned 3 I noticed that my life had become easier all of a sudden...
I've got one just like that. She's eight now and I've thought a hundred times that it would be nice to calm her more than usual determined nature. Now I see how much she's going to need that strength of personality!
She's beautiful.
She's adorable. I like the sweet and sour concept. My poor camera has been on a hiatus but I've just recently bought new memory cards and hopefully will catch up. You're inspiring how you always have a camera on hand to capture the sweet and sour moments. :)
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