Huggies

In a lot of ways, this blog is like the baby book I never had enough discipline to keep or the scrapbooks I’ve never had enough energy to make.  I like to think Dylan and Riley will be proud the blog someday and read it as a way to get to know me from a different perspective.  At the very least, it will help me hold on to the memories of the remarkable things they do and say that might otherwise get lost in the haze of their childhoods.

For instance, Huggies.  I’m not sure if it was Dylan or Riley who started it, but when either boy says “Huggies,” they stop what they’re doing and hug each other. It’s quite simply adorable. Huggies can happen any time, anywhere.

This one happened at the pumpkin patch on Saturday morning:

Huggies also has the magical ability to diffuse the thorniest of situations.  If I see a fight brewing over Legos, the couch, or which book to read at bedtime, I simply yell “Huggies!”  Of course, it’s best when it comes from them.  It’s a precious act, and it’s what I hope is the foundation for a lifetime of love and friendship. 

A few days ago at the park, Riley introduced a little girl to Dylan by saying, “This is my best friend, Dylan.” (Yes, I almost melted right there on the park bench from the sweetness of his two and a half year old words and voice.)  My mother and her brother have been estranged for more than six years.  It’s heartbreaking for my mother, and sadly, my uncle and his family have never met either of my children.  My sister and I are close, but we live far apart.  In fact, I haven’t lived near her since we were kids in bedrooms across the hall from one another. 

I don’t know where Huggies came from, but I’m cherishing it while it lasts because watching the boys’ relationship grow (and watching their sweet hugs!) gives me a hopeful glimpse at their future as loving brothers and best friends.  And if they ever fight over who should take care of Mike and me when we’re old and wrinkled, I’ll know exactly what to say.  “Huggies!”