Beautiful

"Beautiful, beautiful." Our young guest must have repeated that word a hundred times over the past two days.

Her uncle, an accomplished photographer, had given his four year old niece a camera for her birthday. Now, as she stood on our balcony looking at the bright night lights of New York City, she snapped away, mesmerized and hypnotized by what appeared before her.

It was but yesterday that she was born. Today she is almost fully grown. On our most recent adventure, she powered her scooter from our apartment to the George Washington Bridge and we traveled part of its length, taking in the majesty, her camera at the ready. She skinned her knee along the way and quickly morphed from adult to child. But all it took was making use of her water bottle as a tool to soak Papa to turn her tears to smiles. I am her forever target.

But back to that view. As we discussed that her visit with us was ending this afternoon when we would take her home, she asked if maybe she could still return tonight to take more pictures. My heart smiled.

I know this may be but one moment in time that passes as quickly as it arrived. That tomorrow the camera may be discarded and lay like a toy that is all but forgotten. But even were that to be so, we will always have today. When I witnessed my granddaughter growing. Right before my eyes. A photo etched in my mind.

Beautiful.