These Hands

I am grateful for these hands to hold.

I am grateful for the hands that reached out for my own with trust and certainty. They bear the sign of our commitment. I am grateful for the hands that built our home and whose coarseness reveals dedication to our family. The hands that I vow to hold forever.

I am grateful for the hands that were once the smallest I'd ever seen. They have grown capable and creative, yet gentle and sincere, nearly the size of my own, but still interlace with mine for reassurance when we cross the street and to quietly say you're still my mom.

I am grateful for the hands that are still small and sweet and sticky. I am thankful for their fingerprints on the window. I am grateful for the hands that are learning to tell stories in words and pictures and how to skip rope, the hands that I find so often reaching out for a hug.

I am grateful for these hands to hold forever, for hand-in-hand, together, we are always connected.

Love,

Deirdre