A bit of a random gush...

These kids of mine, my goodness, they are beautiful beings. Yes, yes, I know, I am their mother, my sole purpose is to boost them up and make them feel like the most special people on the planet, even if they are really only average. But I really, truly do believe that Phil and I have thus far made exceptionally good-looking babies. Hopefully we will continue to do so, once or twice more in the future (next baby is definitely at least three years away, I guarantee it). We were talking about this just the other day – how awful it would be if our next baby were ugly, and people reacted to it with surprise upon realising that such an unfortunate looking person was related to the rather stunning Otis and Peggy. Yes, it would be bad, but there are obviously much worse things that could happen, and I’d rather not go there…

But it is really more than skin-deep beauty that I am talking about. I mean the shining joy in Otis’ eyes when he sees me walk through the door after a day at work, the higher-than-normal note of his voice, the tightness of our hug. It is in the way he kisses his new cousin Indigo, with a mixture of reverence and excitement. She can’t offer him much yet in the way of fun or companionship, but he loves her anyway. It’s in his very serious “I’m sorry Peggy” after accidentally bowling her over in a fit of enthusiastic adoration.

My boy has such a capacity for love. I have no idea what he will do with his life, whether he will be academically talented or sporty or creative, but I am sure that he will have wonderful relationships with people because he is just so pure of heart. My neighbour once said to me, “Otis has a big heart”. She’s right. I always think of him and feel a little heave in my chest when I listen to Lisa Mitchell sing:

“Livin’ in that chest is a big, big heart, the one I’ve known from the very start…”

And Peggy. Wow, her determined spirit is something to behold. Already crawling efficiently at 6 months, she can do so much with that tiny body of hers. And her giggle – music to my ears. After a hellish night, she wakes up happy, gurgling, that little face – so extreme and singular it looks to have been rendered by a cartoon artist – is all smiles.