I flip through the pages of a magazine
My kids’ make believe-play is the background noise.
Inside its cover, I see perfect things–
I imagine myself in one of those scenes.

Until he says: “I wanna hold you” as his arms reach up to me
She says our baby girl “is the cutest piece of pixie dust in the whole world”
And I say “I wanna storybook my babies’ childhoods,
So that someday, it’ll all come back to me”

He claps a hand to his ear and calls big sis,
I smile as she mimics me on her fancy phone
My baby’s dimpled hands crawl to me,
And my life lights up with love, pure love.

Cuz he says: “I wanna hold you” as his arms reach up to me,
She says our baby girl “is the cutest piece of pixie dust in the whole world”
And I say “I wanna storybook my babies’ childhoods,
So that someday, it’ll all come back to me.”

Fingerprints on the walls,
Crumbs all over the floor,
Laundry pile so tall,
I think I might fall over.
Way too often am I,
Overwhelmed by this life,
Glad their scribbles have made it
Into these pages.

Love how he says: “I wanna hold you” as his arms reach up to me,
She says our baby girl “is the cutest piece of pixie dust in the whole world”
And I say “I wanna storybook my babies’ childhoods,
So that someday, it’ll all come back to me.”

I want it all to come back to me.

And I’ll secretly stash
Some of their pixie dust
And I’ll fly myself back,
To when I loved everything.