Most of the time we cruise along on autopilot. Life happens all around us and we turn around from time to time and we can’t figure out how we got to where we are or remember a time when we were anywhere else.
Very rarely do we have the chance to see Life happening. But when we do – what do we do? Do we stop it from happening, draw attention to it? Take a picture?
Me? I loudly say “What did you just say?” as though I caught a kid cussing me out behind my back.
For Lucy’s first birthday I got an owl tattoo to commemorate her life thus far and so that when the dark circles under my eyes fade I won’t forget the year that I stayed awake all blessed night long for a year. Shortly after I got her tattoo I started seeing owls everywhere. Consequently she has owl pajamas and we point out the owls we see in stores and magazines. Like any good parent of a toddler I say “What does an owl say?” and she says “Hooo hoo.”
And that’s the long version of how owls came to be called Hoo-hoos in our house.
I am not big on Baby Talk. We use real words to talk about things. How else do your kids learn to talk? But something about Hoo-hoos made me smile and I may very well have asked a certain someone if she wants to wear her Hoo-hoo pajamas a time or two.
Today Lucy said owl. I don’t even know what she was talking about but I wheeled around and shouted “What did you say?” and she said it again, “Owl.”
It’s just one small thing. But if I don’t write it down I will forget. I won’t remember when that part of Life happened. And before I turn around Emily will be driving a car and Lucy will be begging to wear lip gloss to school. And I won’t be able to explain how it happened.
Someone will be wearing her hoo-hoo pajamas tonight. And maybe tomorrow night.
Excitement on the side 
This is a really sweet post. The tattoo is really cool too.
Thank you thank you!:)
When you were a bit older than Lucy, you commented out of the blue: I know what love is. And I said what you say: WHAT did you say? And you said, and I wrote it down so I wouldn’t forget it: Love is wanting someone in your room all the time.
And today it still is. There are only a few people I want in my room all the time, and you guys and Scott’s family are the ones I want. You had it right then.
Ah, this is absolutely perfect! I know exactly what you mean, and you caught it so perfectly. LOVELY!
(And one of my favorite things is that my six-year old and I try to get his five-year old brother to say, “Did that pah-son pahk da cah in da sah-cle?” over and over whenever we see that a person has yet again parked his car in the circle… He’ll outgrow it soon and I will mourn.) Thank you!
Love!
It’s all happening so damn fast!!!