Make the main thing the main thing

But what is the main thing?

the main thing

One typical, hurried weekday morning, the baby bonked her head on a corner and scrunched up her face, about to cry, and waddled over to me with her arms outstretched. I slid down to the floor and gathered her up in a hug.

A millisecond later, she was big smiling again and leaned her face up to mine for a kiss. Then she swiveled around and made a beeline across the kitchen to David, arms outstretched and head tilted up for another kiss/hug combo. He slid to the floor, ready to gather her up, too. Then she turned around and came back to me. Back and forth, back and forth, pressing her slobbery little mouth against our faces in her newly learned version of a kiss and pulling away with such accomplishment and glee in her face.

After a few rounds, this game turned into tackle hugs, complete with intoxicating baby giggles. Then she switched to pointing out our body parts in turn— nose, eye, ear, chin.

Eventually, she stopped in between us and laid down on her belly, clearly exhausted.

I needed to shower and get ready for work, the dog needed to go out, and everyone needed breakfast. “What time is it?” My anxiety asked, trying to pierce the moment.