26/10/2026
I keep looking at her.
That little face. That smile. The innocence, the mischief, the sheer delight of being herself… wearing the entire jewellery box as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
She fills me with a happiness I can almost feel spilling over. I want to scoop her up, kiss her cheeks and squeeze her in the biggest cuddle.
And then there’s that little ache.
Because I cannot reach into a photograph.
I cannot go back and hold her.
So I sit with her a little longer.
And somewhere, deep inside, I feel her.
There you are.
The little girl whose eyes still look through mine. Whose excitement I feel when I’m making something beautiful. Whose mischief still makes me laugh.
I close my eyes and wrap my arms around myself.
And I hold her.
I hold me.
For a moment, my whole body fills with love. There is such joy in meeting her again, in realising that all these years, while I was busy growing up, she was coming with me.
Life can be heavy. It can batter us, quieten us, make us forget how freely we once laughed and how eagerly we reached for the world.
But little one, there is room for you here.
For your playfulness, your curiosity, your excitement.
I want to keep making room.
And perhaps that is something we can all do: look a little more tenderly at ourselves. Let ourselves be silly. Get excited over something small. Follow our curiosity just to see where it leads.
And every now and then, wrap our arms around ourselves and give that child the biggest, longest cuddle.
My darling little girl.
You never left me.
How lovely it is to feel you here. 🤍