Olympics be damned, I stayed up until after midnight to watch the women’s ice skating competitions before finally turning in. Exhausted, I lay awake before drifting off into sweet slumber.
At 2 a.m., I awoke and went to see where my dear hubby had collapsed from exhaustion and beckoned him to bed.
At 3:30 a.m., we had an uninvited visitor roam into our room and take a spot between us. The smallest of the bear cubs was surprisingly not in a snuggling kind of mood.
He thrashed and uncovered, twisted and turned. He removed my arm from around his warm little body and I retreated, defeated that my youngest child just wanted a warm bed.
And then, drunk from sleep, he grabbed my arm again. And enveloped himself within the curve of my body. We were nestled like those Russian dolls that I so loved when I was a little girl.
And for the briefest of moments, I thought back to when this child was completely enveloped by my body. Protected, fed, held so close for so long. I remembered how his little fingers and toes would delicately tickle my belly from the inside. I remember the yearning to meet this little person and discover who he was...
This morning, in the wee hours, I felt the warmth of his little body and his need to still be the baby, to still find welcoming arms on a cold night, after a bad dream or loneliness.
When we awoke this morning, my husband and I lovingly gazed our youngest treasure. He lay asleep, his dark long lashes curled on his slightly pink cherub cheeks. I thanked the heavens above for this most perfect gift...and my heart melted as it so often does when I look upon my three sons...
And I wondered, how did this perfect angel come upon us? How have we, in our infinite imperfections, been charged to raise this child, among his precious brothers? How can we become the people he believes us to be already?
And that is my goal for today; to be the person my almost three year old son thinks I already am...
This morning I recieved the sunshine award and I wanted to pass it along to you! check out my post!
ReplyDeleteLovely. I have been trying to write a post about sleeping beside my children. I can't quite capture what you have here. We've had a some long weeks of leg cramps, bad dreams and ear infections, and many nights of being called into our kids' beds. Few things are more precious than watching your child sleep and then sleeping beside him/her. And you have captured the pleasures here.
ReplyDeleteGoodness, Maria, this is just lovely. Tears came to my eyes while reading it. As Jen notes, you do such a perfect job of capturing the fleeting magic of this particular experience with children. I especially love the last line: "And that is my goal for today; to be the person my almost three year old son thinks I already am..." So gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteThis is so sweet! Like Kristen, I love that last line. Our kids do think that we're amazing and capable of almost anything, don't they. We should enjoy it while it lasts, eh? ;)
ReplyDeleteThey are so precious when they sleep and snuggle, aren't they?
Love it! My son cuddled with me all last night and boy was he warm, but it was a great feeling! TFS - stopping by from SITS
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