~ The Mommy Store ~

I truly cherish the once in a lifetime moments, when the world comes to a standstill. When time magically slows to a halt creating a place where everything seems to move in slow motion as if the veil between heaven and earth becomes equal…..just for a split second.

This was one of those moments.

Walking through the crunchy leaves scattered about the earth on a Fall afternoon, my 4 year old daughter Malia, slipped her little hand within mine as we walked along the trail. The pallet of Autumns color bathed our eyes and enveloped us with wonder, as if every little leaf gathered became a priceless treasure of discovery for my daughter.

 In the solitude of enchantment while gathering a little armful of Autumn’s glorious clutter to toss in the air with a squeal of delight, my daughter looked up at me with her soul piercing – much more wise than her young age - chocolate brown eyes – and casually exclaimed
“mommy, I’m so glad I picked you for my mommy!” Without skipping a beat, she tossed her gathered treasure of mixed red, yellow and orange leaves into the air, throwing her head back as nature’s bounty came twirling down onto her sunlit laughing face. I watched her for a moment, sort of caught off guard by her confident statement and asked “you picked me?” Bending over to gather yet another armful, she glanced up at me as if she had forgotten I was there. “From the mommy store in heaven.” she stated as if I should have remembered. “You must remind me,” I urged her on “I really can’t remember what it was like.”

She threw her arms heavenward with an excited squeal allowing the ritual to enthrall her once again as if it were the first time she had done it. “The mommy store in heaven. All of the mommies were lined up and you were the last one. I picked you because you looked at me and smiled at me, and I liked your smile.” She casually stated, persisting in her task of filling her arms, and as if heaven and earth had no boundaries in her little world.

She left me standing speechless as she continued in her next repetition of childhood delight. The air about me became silent. I literally could have heard a pin drop. Everything enveloped my soul in slow motion, even the laughter seemed distant echoing through my head like a faraway dream. I slowly bent down facing my little angel, interrupting her next move and gathered her into my arms. “I love you so much!” I whispered nestling within her neck. She giggled and threw her head back with laughter as it tickled her. “I am so lucky to have you as my daughter! Thank you so much for picking me in heaven to be your mommy. I am the luckiest mommy in the whole world!” I told her as I helped her gather another armful of delight.

At that moment, I truly saw heaven in her soul piercing eyes and knew without a doubt that this once in a lifetime moment would be remembered into the eternities. Where heaven and earth intertwined as one, just for a split second allowing us to step into - and experience the bonds of an eternal awe inspiring connection.

♥