Hands

I spent my evening acting in puppet shows and debating which character in Princess and the Frog is the funniest. Hands down, it's the bug, Ray. I still haven't seen the movie, but we talked about how his butt lights up and that, "A bug's gotta doooo what a bug's gotta doooo." Which is, apparently, light up his butt.

I was lucky enough to join the evening ritual of story time and as soon as my friend opened the first page of the book, I was suddenly 4 years-old again watching my mother's hands turn every page.

The mom in this room was all of 27 years old, but as moms go, she's amazing. As she reads, she has all the right inflections, pauses and cuddly nooks just waiting to be occupied. And those hands. I caught myself watching her fingers touch every page and slowly reveal the next picture. I realized I was no longer admiring the situation as an outsider; I was a kid anxiously awaiting the next line in the story.

Sometimes smells transport you to the past. Sometimes a noise. But tonight, it was a mom's hands and the comfort and grace they all seem to possess.