{Writing on the Walls}

It was a quiet Saturday morning and Santiago says, "Mami, Ca'm here." 

I follow his tiny giant steps to a place in the low-lit hallway outside his room. 

He says, "You see this?" as he traces the writing on the wall. His little chubby fingers traced a green marking on the wall which he had put there some time ago. 

I said, "Yes, I see it, who put it there?" and then as he stares at me with a smile and his bright morning eyes he said...

 "me, I did." No shame. Just pure pride and happiness for his artwork on the wall.

The truth is those markings and that writing on the walls are pretty much all over our home. At a height that only toddlers can reach. It doesn't bother me. I don't try to Clorox wipe the walls free of the marker, pen, and long lasting memories. I treat then as a part of our home. A part of this stage in our lives as parents to a 3 1/2-year-old and a 2-year-old. A part of their life at this stage; as active, creative and developing tiny human beings. 

One day my kids will no longer be interested in writing on the wall and I will have forgotten what it was like to yell at them for coloring the walls, doors, tables, and baseboards. They will have forgotten what it was like to be a child, to be carefree and to be young. 

They will be immersed in this life and it's everyday struggles. They will no longer be toddlers and probably wish they were, as they too discover that life can be amazing but definitely a challenge.  

I think about myself as a 32-year-old and wonder, did my parents ever imagine that I would one day have a child of my own {or Dos for that matter}? Did they care that I wrote on the wall? And, do they miss it as much as I already do? They say it happens in the blink of an eye from 3-year-old child to a 30-something-year-old parent. 

For now, I don't want to forget. I want to embrace. The little things, like the writing on the walls...because one day... they will be gone and I will miss them.