Safe Haven

Once in awhile I would love to travel back in time to when I was a baby – not to stay for very long— but just to revisit what it was like to be swaddled in a cozy towel after a nice, warm bath. To be held by someone who loves me and promises always to keep me safe and warm. 

I wouldn't need more than twenty minutes or so of being babied, that would be just long enough for me to drift gently into a deep, restful sleep. And in the morning I would open my eyes feeling refreshed and content in body, mind, and spirit. 

So what made me stop everything and do a little daydreaming about this? It was a beautiful picture of my niece's children. Her two year old daughter wanted to be held like a baby after her bath, by her older "brodder". And the expressions on their faces. Pure joy. This picture brings a smile to me each time I look at it. 

My grand-niece is barely out of babyhood, and how perceptive she is to remember the importance of trusting someone who loves her unconditionally, who keeps her completely protected and cared for. I am sure it wasn't long after this picture was snapped that she was running around again, independent and relatively self-sufficient for her age. And her "brodder" was there as her protector, her playmate, and her teacher. 

Don't we all need this? Human touch and unconditional love deeper than the ocean? Knowing that there is at least one other person on this planet who will never break a promise to care for you as much as possible, while still letting you be independent, to grow, to learn, to thrive?

While I am much too grown-up to be swaddled and held...sigh...I will never be too old to appreciate those who fill me up every day. The loved ones I can turn to when times are bleak, who will just embrace me and care for me, even when distance requires that they hold me only in their hearts.

So thank you all—family and dear friends. I hope you can feel that I also hold you close in my heart and wish you pure love and joy all the days of your lives.