My paradise

You know i like to draw and, in fact, i lurk frequently at Illustration Friday. I have never submitted anything there but i thought perhaps this week I might. (translation: fraidy kat) The topic of the week is "Your Paradise". I had a number of things go through my head - and they all had to do with my family. My husband and children.

My son, in particular, has been on the brain lately. This is the first summer he really won't be home. He chose to stay at school, working and taking more credits over the summer. And I find myself missing him a great deal. And not coincidentally his birthday is coming up at the end of the month. It's a big birthday. He'll be 21. This seems impossible. And I thought I would like to do something special for him. Make something special.

So as I was thinking about him, and thinking on my paradise, my thoughts turned to how life was anything but paradise when he was baby. That child cried more than any baby on earth - we were sure of it. He was colicky and he was hungry. He was hungry non-stop. And I was exhausted. Because the one thing he did more than cry and eat was NOT sleep. (This continues to this day - the kid is on wheels. I'd give a lot for just a tenth of his energy!) However, every once in a while, God must have known I was at my wits end. And my beautiful baby would sleep. He often slept with me (hey - i was feeding him all the time - of course he slept with me!)
And on one of those rare occasions my husband snapped a photo that is probably one of my favorites of this child. Him sleeping. So sweet. Angelic. Beautiful. So i used that as my inspiration.
So here is my paradise.
It's momentary, paradise.
But sometimes it makes you appreciate it when you get it all the more.