Green...

The way she says “green”...

Well...

It just might be my favorite.

And she’ll say it in a row,

“Gween... lello... bu....  awn’j, wred....”

And my heart melts at the sounds of my 26 month old daughter as she points to things and says the color.

I should probably add that she never gets it right. 

Unless I ask her to point to a color and she can readily find the correct color.

Mostly. 

I mean....

She is a toddler.

And considering my parenting skills have taken a nosedive since the latest work reorganization, I can only thank Alana’s Montessori school for turning her into the ingenue she has become.

I love her.

She loves to be held.

Tightly. 

Way more tightly than anyone else I’ve ever loved.

And it gives me so much...

What’s the word...?

Joy? 

What is greater than joy but fills you up entirely and makes you feel whole?

What is the word that describes a smile from the inside?

What word describes the sweet satisfaction of holding a baby so close without them squirming away and, rather, pulling you in tighter?

I don’t know.

I’ll settle for Joy. 

And it stays with me.