Sometimes it seems that I can almost hear that sound

    though its been many years.

Pages being turned.

Book jackets being removed.

Book upon book upon book.

She was two just turning three when I adopted my youngest daughter

    from Russia.

It had been a long

       exhausting adoption process

         But that only made the joy of having her home even greater.

Cute as a button

   with big brown eyes and an upturned nose.

    Dimples that flashed as if to say,

        “Who do you think you are

            trying to tell me what to do?”

She slept in a white crib those first few months.

   And beside her crib was a book shelf

      lined with children’s books.

When she would awaken in the early morning hours

   she’d reach for those books.

Pulling them one by one off the shelf

   and sitting crossed legged in her bed reading

        or well, at least trying to read them.

Her exuberant spirit was excited to awaken

  while I clung to those last few minutes in bed.

Yes, I can still hear the rustle of those pages

   knowing that when I walked over to her room

    there would be a mountain of books to be placed back

    on the shelf again

   and a pile of book jackets to sort through.

I never noticed when the last morning was.

It happened without my even realizing it.

The crib was replaced with a toddler bed.

Still close by the book shelf.

I’d still greet her in the morning with a big smile

   all the while taking in all those children’s books.

She began to put them back on the shelf

   one at a time.

But then it all disappeared as it were.

That phase passed welcoming in another.

Life is like that, isn’t it?

While we are going through one stage it seems like it will last forever

    But before we even have a chance to savor it

       and say good-bye

   It passes

   All too quickly.

Yes, much too quickly.

We have this moment to hold in our hands

     And to touch as it slips through our fingers like sand;

  Yesterdays gone and tomorrow may never come

But we have this moment today.  (Gaither)

Yes, let’s hold these moments dear

    and not wait for tomorrow.

Enjoy today. Embrace the tender moments.

Hold hands. Make that call. Jump in the leaves.

Yesterdays gone and tomorrow may never be.

Yes, my girl is twelve now

   quite the reader and lover of books

   but that morning sound of those pages turning is only

   in the memory of my heart.