Daddy's words

I stumbled upon this on my computer, and had to paste it here. It's a little note from Daddy, just detailing a couple of things he didn't want to forget. The note was dated June 8, 2010 (Hope was just more than 3-years-old and Grant was nearly 9-months-old).
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I was talking to Holly on the way home from VA last weekend and she said I should just like "mico blog" some thoughts that I had. Here are some memories that I really really really don’t want to forget. These memories are so precious to me that I hesitate to even write them down because I’m not articulate enough to capture everything and I’m a little afraid that I might forget some important detail and the memory will begin to dissipate like some kind of mist or fog.

1. I was driving home from work the other day and my yard is a little out of control because I rarely take time to cut the grass. Holly and Hope were out in the front yard playing and waiting for me to come home. The grass, being tall that day, was green and up around her ankles and her red hair, in stark contrast to the green yard, was blowing gently in the breeze. I could see her blue eyes all the way from the car watch me pull all the way in to the driveway. She was wearing a white dress with little flowers on it; blue I think. It caught me so off guard that I slowed down even more than normal draw out the experience. Maybe it was the combination of coming home after a long day in the office and a crazy traffic commute, or just that seeing her that way was so refreshing and welcoming, but the moment has stuck with me for a week. She was excited to see me too which is just icing on the cake. I used to need “decompression time” before I was ready to go with the kids. Not after this stuff like that is good for the soul. Thinking about it on my lunch break in the office gives me the same emotional response.

2. We were driving home from visiting some family in VA on what turned out to be a rather epic car adventure. At one point I looked back over my left shoulder from the passenger seat of the Sienna and could see just Grant’s pudgy little feet wiggling around. They are so soft and I couldn’t see his hands but I could tell he was playing something. Just a brief moment, but a sweet one for me.

3. I remember being on the trampoline with Hope and it was just the two of us that day. We were bouncing around and I had decided to flop on my back and let her bounce around. She was running around me circles as fast as her little legs would carry her. Her red hair and curls were blowing almost straight back. Some of it was running across her face which in contrast made it seem even more bright red. Her blue eyes were so full of joy and innocence. Everything seems more alive and vibrant in the sunlight anyway and she was looking at me as went round and round with a huge smile. I don’t remember what she was wearing anymore, just how beautiful her face was having so much fun and being so full of life.