My little girl E and I were enjoying our first ice cream sandwiches of the summer. As we sat at the kitchen table, warm sun pouring into the kitchen, I watched E eating her treat, approaching it the way a sculptor would approach a pile of clay. Eating her sandwich by taking ice cream from the sides, eating part of the brown cookie bit, then shaping the ice cream from the inside into the shape of a pyramid.
She looked at the half-eaten ice cream sandwich I had just devoured and said, "I like to savor my ice cream."
Savor.
It struck me that my ten year old daughter was aware, oh so aware, of what it means to savor. Her ice cream sandwich had changed shape dozens of time, her fingers tips had brown cookie stuck to them, her mouth was a gooey mess. Ice cream sandwich? Savored.
I like to think that I had a hand in helping her learn to savor that which she loves. Like to think that the way we enjoy our time, our treats, our treasures, are felt with so much love and goodness that savoring becomes a way of living. I like to think that I showed her the way to all that. Yet, really, while it was me who gave name to it, it was E who taught me how to savor.
It was E has showed me how to slow down and see, really see, the world around me in a different way. To notice how a babies’ tears can be so big. To see how much an ant hole can change in five minutes. To experience the way reading books together changes the story. To feel how wonderful it is when someone you love reaches for your hand, and how strange it feels when they stop reaching. It was E who taught me that life really comes down to a series of beautiful, wonderful moments. Moments to savor.
Most of all, E has made me savor the joy of seeing a baby become a toddler become a little girl become a Little Miss.
It’s E who has given me the joy of watching a person grow and change and become the person they were meant to be.
I just had ice cream sandwich for the first time this summer too. Sadly, I gobbled it up in three bites. Next time I'll remember this and take my time.
ReplyDeleteI also wanted to tell you I mentioned you on my blog (in the tab called life list club)
Oh yes, and I did I ever tell you how much I like your name? The main character in my book is a Marion (spelled the same way) and Bennett's totally rule. That is all.
I was just thinking about this very topic today! Right now I feel like my life is just moving from point A to point B and the rest just gets rushed over. I made a decision to take a minute out of every day to just stop and enjoy everything I have been blessed with.
ReplyDeleteMotherhood is the absolute best gift. My girl is coming home this weekend...am planning on lots of savoring! Yippee!
ReplyDeleteLoved these words: to feel how wonderful it is when someone you love reaches for your hand, and how strange it feels when they stop reaching.
The last part is hard...so hard...but I know it is the season so I am embracing it too!
Beautiful Marion,
ReplyDeleteI have been feeling this in spades recently and have been trying to find the words...you said it all. Thank you!
By the by....those two ice cream sandwiches, I always start on the outside, making the perfect shape and eat very slowly. Ice cream sandwiches are perfect for that and those two look delicious!
Jeanne xxx
Hello Marion:
ReplyDeleteYour daughter will grow up to be a very wise woman, of that we are certain. It is we feel, like you, so very important to savour all that life has to offer, particularly those little things which in their own small ways form the great whole.
Ah, yes, savoring is one of my particular things. We all do far too less savoring, I'm afraid.
ReplyDeleteI love that E knows how to savor
ReplyDeletethat's wonderful
The perfect word to use when describing how much I enjoy your writing. It's to be savored.
ReplyDeleteCheers!
Julie
Julie Magers Soulen Photography
Out of the mouths of babes...what a wonderful lesson and reminder to us all. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteShe is such a switched-on, old soul your girl. I am nearing 40 and I am still working on the 'savour' word. It's an action that means so much. x
ReplyDeleteBeautiful post. Children are such a lesson in savouring life. So important not to forget to remember that.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the lovely comment on my blog re the little film I had included in my post - I marvel at that film each time I watch it.
ReplyDeleteThis was a beautiful post about seeing through a child's eyes. Wishing you many days full of ice cream sandwiches...........
How lucky you are to enjoy the words and days of a ten year old, one who obviously is so bright! Lovely to hear from you and I also like your "thimble" list, so much more manageable. XO
ReplyDeleteOh I do believe you are savoring each stage of E's growing into a woman she is yet to become. What a treasure it is to savor. I am loving that word and what it means. Thanks for reminding me to savor the small things.
ReplyDeleteSavoring the moments as your child grows is such a precious gift! Now that my son is older (almost 20 years old) I still find myself savoring all the wonderful moments we had as he grew into his young manhood. The new moments are farther apart now, but I still have all of the precious memories we made and I thank God for them! Perhaps it was the fact that he is adopted and I understood just how precious a gift he was or maybe it was that I was older and better prepared to be a mother, but for whatever reason, I'm so grateful that I realized how precious all those moments were and I relished them, then and now.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy all of your time with E! These are the gifts of life!
Such a beautiful post! I love visiting your blog as you often remind me to stop, slow down, experience life rather than rushing through it, ticking boxes.
ReplyDeleteHi Marion,
ReplyDeleteWhat a precious, darling child. What more can I say?