Don't know when this chance might come again. Good times got a way of comin' to an end...

My kids have a bath just about every night.

This is not because I am persnickety about cleanliness, but more because it's an established part of their bedtime routine and they love it. They play and they goof and I dose the water up with lavender and Epsom salts and still it does not drowzify my little girl. I try, I do try.

Sometimes I join them. There used to be a lot more room in the tub, but they've both grown so much that those days are drawing to a close. It's going to make me sad, as I love when India reaches over and rubs my back with her little washcloth.

Anyway. I like to get clean before I cuddle my sparkly clean little kids. So sometimes I just jump in first as the tub is filling and rinse off, and then I put on my jammies, which are typically boxers and T-shirts, so that once it's filled the tub is all theirs.

As I've said before, they are often naked from the minute they walk in the front door, or sometimes they manage to keep their underwear on for dinner, but they are most certainly nanga punga by the time they get upstairs.

So Friday evening I performed my ablutions while they were running up and down the hall like lunatics, as they are wont to do prior to the bath. I  had just put on my boxers when I heard a loud  thump and then India started to cry. I knew what had happened. She'd clocked herself on the dresser in the hallway. I briefly considered pulling my shirt on first, but rushed to her instead.

My baby, my wailing baby, was standing arms outstretched, waiting for me to pick her up. "Maaaaamaaaa! I bumped!"

I held her and kissed the top of her head and swayed with her and made soothing little noises. It was so lovely, just like when she was a wee baby and we had all this skin-to-skin contact to promote lactation and bonding and such.

I closed my eyes and reveled in the closeness and the memories.

She got very quiet, and I was wondering if it was tapping into baby memories for her as well. Ohh, so sweet! We were clearly having a moment.

And then I felt my nipple being squeezed by dextrous little fingers.

There she was, so close to these objects of fascination. All she had to do was reach out and carpe the diem.

She beamed up at me, nipple held tight. "Boomps!"