1 Mother 2 Another

Cora recently woke up waaaaaaaaay too
early and was clearly not going back to sleep. On such mornings, I
bring her into bed with me, hoping she’ll go back to sleep if
she’s snuggled up against Mommy. This hardly ever happens,
but she enjoys Mommy time so much that she will easily lie quietly
for twenty or thirty minutes, allowing me to doze in and out, until
she can’t take it any longer.


When Cora’s been as patient as she can be, she’ll thump
her feet a few times to make sure I’m awake. Then
she’ll roll over and crawl into my face and whisper,
“Mommy, my tummy’s hungry. Let’s go downstairs,
get Cora some breakfast.” I’ll good-naturedly get up,
thankful for those extra minutes of dozing time, and get ready for
the day.


But the other morning I was truly tired, and really needed to
sleep. Cora must have sensed that because she lay there quietly for
an hour before even saying a word. And even then, she didn’t
thump to awaken me – she just talked quietly. “Mommy,
are you still asleep?”


“Mmmhmm,” I answered sleepily.


“Oh,” was all she said, and I felt the disappointment
in her body. But then she resigned herself, and pressed closer to
me for a snuggle, still silent, still willing to let me sleep.


These are the sweet moments that make the rest of the times worth
it.