Tenderness

"When I approach a child, he inspires in me two sentiments; tenderness for what he is, and respect for what he may become."
Louis Pasteur (1822-1895)

This picture was taken in 1986 on the day our third son was born.  Every time I view this photo the word tenderness comes to mind.  It is one of my favorite photos.  Every face tells a story, the eyes are full of peace and awe; the family is intact, a unit, untouched by any outside forces.  I took the photo, after having given birth, and am pleased I am not in this particular photo.  These are my men, my guys, my family.  We started there, on that day, as a family of five and have been five ever since.  Our uneven number has kept things interesting; nothing can ever be cut in half; negotiating and sharing have risen to an art form.  We have continued to hold onto the tenderness and also the respect for what we each might become.  We are all a work in progress, we five, but we are in this together; this crazy life where we can send spaceships to Mars but can’t keep oil from spilling into the oceans.  So, we do what we can, we live our lives with hope, some optimism and the firm belief that tenderness is valued and what we may become is already part of who we are.