November 08

No Giants

there’ll be no stories of giants
some parents say - to contaminate
their little minds - no fairies
no mystery or confusion
just reality
and the mother swoops down and
thrusts her face right up to the baby’s
who’s a little grumpy then?
plasters her nose against his
so his arms shoot up in panic
till he gets his breath.
and the father lifts him up
in the palm of his hand
high above his head, twirling
the baby gasps his breath in
just before he’s - tossed into space
to be caught
and given back his weight
wasn’t that fun?

“I know now that everything changes, and it’s usually too quickly.”*

Having children reminds us of the changing nature of ourselves and our world. Before children entered my life, years could go by and I would usually have external events to mark them. Now, years are remembered for my children’s birth or ages, and our experiences together. (And the time before the birth of my first child feels like a thousand years ago!). Their growth seems rapid and shockingly sudden – and my time with them is all the more precious for knowing that.

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