Countdown is Progressing

In a week, Benji turns two.  The months - and now years - are starting to blur together, either as a result of my approaching senility or his ability to speed up time.  Every cliche that other parents have said to me, "It's over before you know it," or "Appreciate it while it lasts," or "You're going to want to finish that martini" has been absolutely true.  Today I was thinking about how he used to jump in his little swing a few months ago - and realized that no, it was a year and a few months ago.

We've spent the past two weekends here in New Jersey instead of going to our cabin upstate. (Thankfully, the peaches froze and canned well to keep us connected).  What a privilege to spend two weekends with Benji, not running around with chores and driving but walking around our town or just loafing in the apartment, hearing him name things I didn't even know he'd seen before. And having him sneak up on me and jump on my back as I'm reading a magazine on the carpet, and demand that I take him "that way!" on a horsey ride into the bedroom. Feeling his warm little cheek as he lays his head on my shoulders on the bedtime trip from car to crib.  They are all little flecks of him that I'm desperate to add to my scrapbook of memories but are gone as soon as I realize how precious they are.

Two is going to come and go, too.  Given the tumult of the past year, we're going to have a wonderful, just-us -boyz birthday dinner with hopefully enough space on the memory card for the camera.  And then it's on to three, and a whole new set of mementos that I will struggle to keep safe.