but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands

They say that having children changes you, but they don't tell you in what ways. Because it's in all ways. But in one fundamental way, you should be forewarned: and that is that in discovering love in ways you did not know existed, you will discover aches in ways you did not think were possible.

When they become themselves, become themselves like finding familiar shadows in the sun, all you can do is watch and watch and the distance stretches in timedaggers that sharpen with each increased step, but masked with joy of living.

But take those steps out of the garden in peace knowing that there is no other way, that the greatest of happinesses could not occur without aches, zerosum aches.