"Heaven lies about us in our infancy!"
--William Wordsworth
Today I was going through an old sketchbook of drawings I did when my children were babies. I remember sitting blissfully on the couch for hours, content to have a pencil and sketchbook at hand while my baby slept on my lap. Of course, there are more drawings of Nell, because she is the oldest. When Morgan was a baby, I also had an energetic three-year-old watching me draw! But I'm still surprised at the quantity of drawings I made back then, and of course, deeply moved by these precious memories. When I look at these drawings, I can't believe my children have grown so much! It really does feel as if life is too short, and the passage of time far too relentless. Sketching is one small way to hold onto a moment and keep it forever.
note: This is definitely dated incorrectly in the sketch. She didn't have curls in 2007. I think I just forgot the year changed to 2008.
Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:
The Soul that rises with us, our life's Star,
Hath had elsewhere its setting,
And cometh from afar:
Not in entire forgetfulness,
And not in utter nakedness,
But trailing clouds of glory do we come
From God, who is our home:
Heaven lies about us in our infancy!
--William Wordsworth
excerpt