Moments

There are moments when I look at Willow and can't believe she's mine. Being a Mom is still so new. Is she really my daughter? How did something so beautiful and precious come out of me?

There are moments when I watch her sleep, so innocent and content. I wonder what she's dreaming about. (Probably Elmo.)

There are moments when I just stare at her, wondering what she's going to become. What she's going to look like. Will she still be a Daddy-Clone? Will her hair grow into dirty-blonde curls like her Mommy? Will those bright, blue eyes that everybody comments on ever fade to gray?

I wonder who she's going to marry. Or if she marries at all. Will she have children? Will I be around to see them grow up?

There are moments when I observe Willow playing with her toys, being independent and having make-believe conversations with her favorite Bear and Cookie Monster. I see her little brain working, learning, growing. She's getting so big. Soon she'll be having actual conversations with her stuffed animals and dolls. And someday those toys will be replaced with her girlfriends, or *shudder* boys. Feeding a bottle of milk to her toys will be replaced with tea parties with her school mates. And tea parties will eventually turn into martini mixers with her social circle.

It's all inevitable. Babies grow into adults. Then the circle of life repeats itself and maybe 25 years from now, Willow will be blogging about this very subject.

I dread the day when I'll no longer have these moments.