October 03, 2007

Golden Slumbers

Last night, Bear woke up around midnight and decided to go out to the kitchen.

"Bear," I said, following him. "What you doing?"

"Um, sleeping, and then I got hungry," he told me.

He was wearing his footie pajamas, the ones with his name embroidered on them. Looking tousled and adorable and not quite....awake.

"Sweetie, are you awake or are you sleepwalking?" Hey, it seemed reasonable to ask.

"Mommy," he sighed, looking down at where his toes wriggled under the fleece. "Do sleeping people want cereal?"

"Depends, what kind of cereal?"

He thought a moment. "Hamburger?"

"Yes, sleeping people want Hamburger cereal. Awake people want Apple Jacks or Cheerios."

He nodded, sagely. "OK, I'm asleep. Will you carry me back to bed?" Reaching for me.

So I picked him up, his arms wrapped around my neck, the heavy warm weight of him in my hands. And put him back to bed. Pulled up his Knights and Armor comforter. Made sure his stuffed animals were all safely stacked in their places. And kissed him goodnight, again.

essexelizabeth200.jpg"Mommy," he murmured as I left the room.

"Yes, Bear?"

"If you were still a kid, then we could have a sleepover. And go to the park tomorrow."

When I was a kid, I had princess nightgowns the twirled around my knees when I danced. I had a curtains my mom made that matched my comforter. I had my special blankie that made me feel safe. And the boys I played with liked Cops and Robbers and always made me the Robber.

I turned to answer, not sure actually what to say, and saw that he'd already closed his eyes. His breathing steadier, and steadier.

And my heart broke with love.

Posted by: Elizabeth at 09:58 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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1 Lovely post. I know at any moment my daughter is going to turn into a tween and be embarrassed by me and need to figure out who she is by making sure she's not me. IN the meant time I find myself soaking up as many of those kinds on moments as I can.

Posted by: momtowahid at October 04, 2007 09:01 AM (msbri)

2 Gorgeous. Only one thing: nothing is stopping you from having a sleepover and going to the park. Make a fortress out of couch pillows in the living room, watch a cartoon together, eat poptarts, and have a slumber party by camping out in the living room. Bring your princess nightgown. Go on, you know you want to, my friend. Have fun at the park!

Posted by: rp at October 05, 2007 07:53 AM (op1yW)

3 Beautiful, baby. Just beautiful.

Posted by: Margi at October 06, 2007 03:55 PM (wpu3a)

4 What a great snippet of your life. I love the picture too! I've been looking through boxes and apparently my parents only have pictures of me after the unfortunate Dorothy Hamill haircut. My eldest child thinks I am ancient now and was never a child. The youngest is still thrilled when we do ring around the rosy until we can't stop the room from spinning. Hang on to the little bits ... they don't last forever.

Posted by: Michele at October 07, 2007 04:28 PM (h1vml)

5 When you have your sleepover, please invite me?

Posted by: Mamacita at October 07, 2007 05:29 PM (OiVHT)

6 I got tears on this one. I remember this days so well with my own children... I miss them.

Posted by: sue at October 10, 2007 10:38 AM (WbfZD)

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