For When She Sleeps

She's gotten into the habit of sleeping in my bed. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that my bedroom is 15 steps away from the couch. I'll find her here at random times throughout the day. Everyone needs a nap after watching TV and texting your friends.

I've created a bit of delusion in my mind that she just wants to be near me. So she snuggles down into my comforter. Because she doesn't pick her dad's side to sleep on, she picks mine. That means she loves me more. I'm just sure of it.

Most of the time I take a second or twelve, and just watch her. There is something magical about your children when they sleep. The quiet stillness somehow fills up with all the goodness that this one being has brought into your life. Everything that makes her such a teenager falls away. And my mind flips through years on autopilot. I can't seem to help it.

Usually, I take a deep breath and move on. Life clicks back to its usual rhythm. And within minutes I'm yelling (with my super sweet inside voice) for someone to do something. Life ebbs and flows. Mine generally ebbs. I long for more flowing. Yes?

So I say a quick prayer of thanks, because that's just all the time I have. For stolen moments tucked into the every day. For children and all the ways they make me stretch beyond myself.

And for a girl. Well, 3 of them actually.
Gifts beyond measure.

Sleeping is a bonus :)