Creeping, Not Creepy

When JT and I go for an evening walk in the snow, we call it creeping.  Spoken that way, it sounds as if we are lurking outside the houses in our neighborhood, peering in the windows and plotting nefarious acts.  Which is not at all what creeping means.  At least to us.

Creeping is walking in the cold evening quiet, enjoying the sparkle of the snow and the beautiful stillness.  Alas, our December has featured plenty of cold but no snow.  So there has been none of the traditional creeping.  But we have taken walks to admire the holiday lights.  And Sunday night, we headed to the center of town to check out the tree in the gazebo and the traditional Christmas display.  We visit this display every year, and I've made many pictures of JT since we moved to this town 5 years ago.  But this year it was suddenly quite apparent to me how very grown up my little boy has become.

There's no way to turn back time and there is much about being the mama of a 10 year old that I have come to appreciate (for example, the boy is strong and that's a quite handy thing to have on hand).  Even so, I miss having a toddler in my lap (let alone a baby on my hip) and I felt that so acutely on Sunday night.