how you think of love.

my papa and stepmom have been here with us, visiting together over the weekend, papa staying awhile longer.

it has been the gift of extra sets of hands and long showers. they came bearing green smoothies and fresh bagels, and they loved on our boy and sent us on our first date since his birth. christy cooked meals. papa repaired our bathroom door. they made us laugh and kept us company. we walked for coffee and stretched our legs in central park.

when it was just my papa and me, it was the gift of time. he held francis so tenderly, and looked both forward and back in wonder — my birth, my earliest days, his fledgling fatherhood, how far we've come, how much fun it's been, how hard at times, how fast thirty years went, how deep i believe my love to run today but just wait, just wait, until tomorrow...

i understood: francis won't understand how deep my love runs until he holds his own. 

(i am his baby and you are my baby, and this is the way of the world.)