In the Blink of an Eye

Years go by

In the blink of an eye

We don’t always notice

the little things that change

because we are too busy cleaning up the muck

and gross bodily fluids of being a grown up

caring for these small little people

so they too can become a grown up

and clean up the muck of the

messes we make in our lives

Starting with birth

and then just going from there

We all have to wipe our own butts

at least once a day

Life is messy

and tiring

But we all know that being

exhausted at the end of the day

is often a recipe for sleep

And sleep is a good thing

that surrendering

to the unknown

the letting go

of everything

and just being in a state of not being

Often as parents

the only time we can fully relax

and breathe a sigh

is when our kids have abandoned

themselves to sleep

From sleeping babies

To snoring teenagers

we can often begin to rest easy

to unwind

to congratulate ourselves

On keeping everyone alive

Truly alive

for another day

another day to grow and play

Another day to just be

But in those minute days

where we play and pick up and clean up

we sometimes miss the changes

the length of the limbs as they grow out

How the brain upgrades

usually, while we are asleep

and now this person that we have

known their whole lives

Is someone else entirely

And they didn’t ask us

we didn’t give our permission

it just happened in what felt like

a blink of an eye

and soon we will be holding

the next generation in our arms

in our hearts

and facing our own

mortality and the

legacies we hope

we are leaving behind

and it all happens in the

blink of an eye

and the small moments

of mess cleaning up.