Yawning boy

When I look back on my children as babies, I can still see in my mind's eye the way my youngest looked when he yawned. I would hold him in my arms and he would yawn this wide, sideways yawn that was just adorable. His eyelids crinkled up differently than his older brother's had at that age. And still do.

Now, I admit it sounds strange to notice the way his eyelids crinkle. I had never thought of this as being an inheritable trait. When I close my eyes, the lids fold in smooth horizontal lines. My oldest son has the same eyelids. My husband, on the other hand, his eyelids pucker and wrinkle in a tangle when he closes his eyes. Which our younger son inherited from him.

The youngest is a tall teenager now. He resembles not at all the baby he once was. For one thing, he towers over me. At the rate he is going he will exceed my height by a foot in no time. But every once in a while, if I happen to be looking at him at the right moment, he yawns. He yawns crookedly sideways, and his eyelids pucker as he squeezes his eyes closed. And for just a flicker of time, I can see the baby I once held in my arms.