Austin was in school. David needed to deal with an issue with his cell phone contract in a nearby village, the very same village Bruce Willis was born in. So Cade and I wandered the familiar streets early Friday morning. It was cool and we were bundled up and Cade cried every time I tried to drag him into a store. He wanted to be outside, in my arms… I wished for the Ergo. Longed for it, actually, but it’d been months since he snuggled down into it and the trek to the car was far too long for him to reject that too.
We made faces at David in the window. There was a line inside the store and my heart raced thinking I’d made a mistake wanting to tag along on this errand. We’d have to wait it out in the cool morning air. There’s nothing more fun than a crabby child and a long line…
“Mommy. Don’t put me down. Hold me.”
So I held my baby, my three year old- until my arms grew tired of holding and my legs grew tired of standing, and my eyes grew tired of the annoyed stares of passers-by.
Several old women would comment, “süß,” or sweet, as I bounced and loved and tried to calm the fussiness- in him, and me. I smiled and nodded, and smiled again when their eyes turned sympathetic to the poked out lip on his tear stained face.
Finally, I sat on the cold cobblestone and pulled my camera out of my bag.
His tears faded and his finger clicked away.
“Show me, Mommy. Show me.”
We talked about where everybody might be going.
We talked about the dogs on the leashes, and the one in the bag… And the grandad that pushed a wee one in a stroller.
Cade pointed out a red scarf and a green hat. And there were three boys with that mama, when really there were only two… But it got me thinking, maybe she’s carrying a wee one in her belly, underneath all those layers…. Because sometimes kids know those kinds of things…
Cade fussed again when it was time to put the camera away. We snuggled for a minute more and David came out to find us. Cade stood beside us as I closed my bag. I bent to pick him up again and he pushed my arms away.
“I’ll walk, Momma. Hold your hand?”
[The pictures in this post were taken by Cade, autofocus/no flash mode. I held tightly to the camera strap, helped him point while he clicked away.]
*love* Your blog posts are so real. I feel like I’m standing on that cobblestone street in a small village in Germany watching you and the love foe have for Cade. Sufs, for sure. Love you and those beautiful boys!! Miss the hell out of you. xoxoxoxo
…so sweet. It’s always wonderful to see the photos kids come up with.