Monday, April 18, 2011

bittersweet moment

Yesterday afternoon, my baby fell asleep on my chest.

He's almost 8 now and it had been years since this happened. He had two late nights followed by two early mornings, and he'd been tired and cranky. I suggested we curl up in bed for some quiet time. He had a new book to crack open and he was keen.

But after awhile he grew restless. We talked about putting on a movie. I told him I felt tired and lazy. He said he did, too. After a few moments of lying quietly, his breath began to slow.

Suddenly, he sat up, “Mama, could you stop feeling so lazy. I thought we were going to watch a movie!”

“We could do that,” I answered. “But I thought we were going to have a little snooze first.”

To my surprise, he said, “OK. I'll have a little snooze.” He put his head on my chest, and within seconds was sleeping soundly.

We lay there like that for more than an hour (at one point he woke up, said “Where'd my book go?” I said, “You've been sleeping.” He said “Oh!” and went back to sleep), and I was blissed out. I was happy to have my book within reach but I spent a long time just looking at him, listening to him breathe and loving the feel of his weight on my chest.

As I said, this was the first time this had happened in years. And it was quite possibly the last.

All too soon, he woke and we went on with our afternoon. If I close my eyes and listen to my own slow breaths, I can still feel his weight on my chest.

10 comments:

Nat said...

Brought a tear to my eye, I know those fleeting moments all too well.

Unknown said...

Laurie - I love it - thankfully Lucas still does that - more w Kevin b/c he is too heavy to lay on me for more than a few minutes. So, I guess the next step will be us having a snooze on our grown up boys. Tissue please.

FlippyO said...

Awwww, very sweet. I'm glad he let himself do what his body wanted. There's nothing sweeter than our kids (four-legged or two - I have little niece & nephew moments) falling asleep with us, and I think it's especially sweet with little boys.

Chantal said...

oh that makes me teary! My older boys haven't napped on me in ages! Such a sweet moment. Glad you got to enjoy it.

Chris said...

Glad you enjoyed it.

Of course the next time it happens will be when he's home from a night out drinkin' w'the lads.

deb said...

I love those moments with my youngest daughter. She is now 10 so soon she will be too big, but I will take all the cuddles and sleepy moments with her that I can get.

Thank you for sharing!

laurie said...

Thanks all. These moments are indeed precious. My oldest son - who is a great kid - would rather I didn't walk on the same side of the street as him in public. So I know what my future holds, in that regard.

Lene Andersen said...

that's magical. Lovely writing, too.

nancyspoint said...

Laurie, Really a lovely post. It would be nice to capture those moments, but I guess we do in our memories. And guess what? I am finding the older my kids get, the better the relationships are getting too.

No one really tells you that...

laurie said...

Nancy, thanks for sharing that perspective. I love watching my boys grow up but it also makes me sad that up means away. I love to hear from those who have great relationships with their older children.