Sweet Smiles

My daughter gives me so many genuine smiles. I really appreciate it. It's something that she has done since she could first smile.

I have clear memories of them: as though those moments were frozen in time for me. Once, when she was about six months old, I walked beside her just as she was waking up. When she opened her eyes and saw me, the first thing she did was smile. That was remarkable to me, because my first born child usually woke up crying. I tended to expect that from Alafair, too.

Then, when she was about six years old, we were walking through Fort Leavenworth. We had just passed beneath an oak tree, she had walked through the speckles of shade in front of me, and then turned to look back at me. When she caught my eyes, she smiled so simply and sweetly. I could feel time standing still in that moment, and I thought, Oh, I just made a memory.