Three

So it has been only three weeks since

she turned 3 and she's already skipping to 5,

excitedly telling me, "I'll have another birthday and I'll be five."

Now everything is five.

"How many crackers do you want?" "Five"

"Let's choose two books." "No. Five."

Each time accompanied by the upheld hand

proudly displaying 5 fingers

I remember the moment of her birth

It was amazing, exhausting, and magical

No . . .

I think the word is sacred

It was a moment in which the full glory of womanhood

struck me with palpable force

and while I had little understanding of the real demands of motherhood,

I also had no idea how completely

she would become ingrained in my heart

with her bright eyes and ready smile

her infectious laughter, her empathy, her precociousness,

her desire to entertain ("is that funny mom?")

and despite the water on the floor and the drawings on the walls

each year she becomes more and more

my sweetie "gril" ever in the world