Most nights I come up to bed and work on the laptop for a bit. I may edit photo sessions, prepare things for the church, send emails… that sort of stuff. Around midnight I usually scan Pinterest, take a Scrabble turn or two, spend some time in prayer, and then drift off to sleep.
Last night, I had approximately 125 Christmas cards left to fill out, envelopes to address, photos to edit, emails to send, CDs to burn, laundry to fold, a room to clean, gifts to wrap, and I’m sure that I’m forgetting something else… and when I came up to bed and went to put something in the little girls’ room, my baby was sitting in her crib staring at me. We made eye contact and she gave me the biggest, goofiest, toothy grin. I couldn’t resist picking her up for a quick hug. You may have heard that Lily isn’t a cuddler. She says, “Huuuuuu!” and leans her head on your face for about 2 seconds flat. But last night, she snagged her blankie out of the crib as I picked her up and snuggled up under my chin. I carried her into my room and sat in the rocking chair. I whispered to her while she nursed for a few minutes and then she snuggled right back onto my chest again. My mind momentarily started reminding me of my daunting to-do list - but I ignored it.
I pulled her blankie over us and rocked my baby. Every few seconds she would look up at me and smile. I must have kissed her head a hundred times. She’d push her feet off my lap every so often to keep me rocking her, and then snuggle in even closer when I did. Eventually she started to drift and I laid her down in her crib, handed her the pink puppy she likes to hug while she sleeps, and watched her drift off. It was exactly the reminder I needed, that it’s ok to slow down sometimes. It’s ok to enjoy the quiet one-on-one moments with my baby, at midnight, while 20 other things wait.
My baby is getting big…
amen.
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