The girls are starting to seem awake now.
They are dressed for school…everything is ready.
The bowl of cereal drowned in cold milk has been gobbled up in the midst of questions and reminders. “Will you pick me up from school today?” “Don’t forget your lunch.” “Is everything in your backpack?”
Except…
for the blonde bird’s nests that sit atop each of the girls’ head.
They did not sleep last night in one still place like you would imagine Snow White did. Instead it looks like dreams were acted out while they slept.
Miriam was probably riding a horse, her hair whipping and flying in the wind, tangling into the knots that I see now.
A hundred puppies must have climbed all over Emma in her sleep, each of them vying for the enviable position of cuddling her long and flaxen hair.
Crown after crown must have been put on Gracie’s head until her hair became entangled in the new gowns and crowns that she needed to try on.
There’s a spritz from the spray bottle onto tangled blond locks of hair.
Our homemade concoction of water and conditioner helps the knots and tangles to come out more easily. It’s not a cure for the screams and yells of pain that come on mornings after dreams of horses, puppies, and crowns…no matter how gentle I’m trying to be.
The daily ritual of brushing each of the girls’ hair and then weaving long golden strands into braids or crunching curls into ringlets will pass.
Up until this year each morning I would run the brush through the white blonde hair of each of my daughters. Dividing it into two sides and then gathering each jumble of hair into three parts, one piece over the next until braids had formed.
I still brush their hair. Just not every morning.
With the passing weeks there are more days that they each want to brush and fix their own hair. The days that they let me do the brushing I appreciate more and at the same time it makes me proud of them when they break away and do it on their own.
In every bit of my life as a parent it feels like there is a push and a pull. I want to push my children to become older and at the same time pull them back into me, cuddle them, hold them, keep them young.
And I feel it from them, too.
This little dance of pushing and pulling that allows them to spread their wings and also offers them a safe place to land.
And so in these hours I’ll enjoy the everyday bit of our life…that for now sometimes includes brushing 3 girls’ hair.
**what are the everyday things you love (or mostly love…or might miss when they pass)?**
-Davina
(click here to download the poster below)
Davina Fear is a Familyness Adventurer. She believes chores make her relationship with her kids stronger and will never turn down a chocolate cupcake.
She blogs at davinafear.com and believes in the non-cheesy smile. She spends her days teaching moms and photographers how to create amazing family photo stories through The Familyness Photo Workshop.
2 Comments
I love this post. It about makes me cry when I read it. The part about the push and pull between parents and children is so true! Thanks for sharing!
I’m glad I get to do the parenting with you…