My kids took a nap today.  Partly because summer kids are tired kids.  Partly because mommy needed an hour to clean bathrooms and fold laundry while listening to classical music.  My almost 11 year old came down from his nap with those rosy cheeks that tell me that he, indeed, slept.  He snuggled in next to me on the chair and I saw his freckled nose and his sun kissed hair.  I felt his soft cheek against mine and saw teeth that are too big for his mouth.  I had a sudden realization that in the not too distant future, his face will be scratchy.  He will grow into those teeth.  His voice will change.  He will no longer fit in the chair with me.  It made me sad and I was transported back to the day when I was walking through the grocery store with him as an infant.  I woman stopped me to comment on his gorgeous eyes and then she said words that would change my life.  She said “the days are long, but the years are short”.  And as I remembered that, I held him a bit closer.