To my charming daughter

As I was waiting to fall asleep the other night
I thought about the way you
Tap your little pointer finger on a picture in a book
Slowly up and down and again and again
The way you look so seriously right into my eyes
While I count to sixty for your time-out
(Sometimes I can barely keep from giggling, and
You catch me and giggle back)
The way you yell with delight “it has a STEERING WHEEL!”
Or “The big potty was LOUD!”
Or “Look at all the TEA SET!”
Or “That’s not our CAR!”
Or “Mama’s RESTING!”
The way you pretend to read, “Tavis tavis tavis…”
The way you talk about everything all the time
(Which is as charming as it is sometimes infuriating and exhausting)
The way you repeat yourself until someone acknowledges what you’ve said
And then sometimes you repeat yourself some more
The way you refer to yourself as “you”
The way you bang your forehead on the ground when you’re terribly frustrated
(Just like I did, except not so desperately, not so hurtfully)
The way your hair curls out to the sides behind your ears and all around the back,
Like Sally in Peanuts but so much cuter
The way your face is, the way your legs are, the way all of you is so
Sturdy and delicate and smooth and beautiful
And I had to smile
(And almost giggled out loud)