Soaking

For approximately 45 seconds this morning my daughter left me alone long enough for me to lay down in the driveway and look up at the leaves shimmering and shivering in the breeze. They reflected the early morning light. They looked and felt glittery and silver. I soaked it in.

I soaked it in when my daughter cried so loudly we had to leave church. I soaked it in when it felt I was ripping out more seams than I was sewing. I soaked it in when a nap was cut short and my toddler became a bundle of raw nerves for the rest of the afternoon. I soaked it in. And I survived.