To the Magic Makers with babies and young children,

We see you with these little ones, the tiny and the not-so-tiny.
In the mess and the glorious chaos of life as a parent.

We see you, giving of yourself day in and day out. Sharing your body, your sleep, your heart.
Holding more in your head than you ever imagined; organizing, planning, scheduling, and preparing.
And it sometimes feels like you’re working behind the scenes invisibly.
All while being present, responsive, attentive, and lovingly attuned to your little one’s needs.
Most of all, their very real need for you.

We see you, making memories seem to just happen with special real-life awake dreams of beauty and delight. Weaving mystical moments out of the exhausted fragments of your over-extended mind for magical time suspension of wonder.
The weight of this burden keeps you up and wears you down but you try to never show it.

We see you.

We see you, needing to rest and to just slow down.

We see you, so this is our reminder for you:

The magic is already there.
In your arms, reaching for you, snuggling into your chest, breathing you in as you breathe them in too.
The wonder isn’t in the perfect instagrammable moments or the highlight reel of photography proofs, it’s in the soothed tears, the trusting slumber on your shoulder, the toothless grins, and the small hand in yours.
The memories are the warmth of your love, the peace of the safety they find in you, the joy of your playfulness, the comfort of your presence, and your delight in them.

To them you are the magic, they are the magic for you too.

We see you.
Not every moment is magical and sometimes it’s hard to feel the wonder when the daily becomes a slog.
You aren’t ungrateful, you’re tired and overwhelmed. The joy may feel just out of reach but you are joy for them.
Some moments you’ll miss but still you are there, love perseveres.
And that is magic too.

The magic is already there.