Charlie woke up in our bed this morning.
It was 5:00 am when I heard her crying, “Mommy… Mommy!” I let her go for a couple of minutes, thinking she may fall back asleep. “Mommy…. Mommy!” I roll out of bed, stumble into her room and rub her back as she lay in her crib. She immediately climbs into my arms and I carry her into our bed. I plop her down next to Daddy, kiss her sweet smelling head (even though she didn’t get a bath last night, her hair still smells sweet) and toss myself back into my comfortable sleeping position for one more hour of rest and relaxation.
When it was time to get her dressed, I did it while she slept. She’d toss and turn and moan, “no”, but let me go about my diaper changing and wipe wiping. When it was time to put on her sandal, she heard me un-do the Velcro strap, and without hesitation, on little on her belly, still trying to get in a few more minutes of rest and relaxation, she props her little foot up, like she’s doing a hamstring exercise. I giggled at her reflexes, put her shoe on and went for the other shoe. Without hesitation, she propped her other foot up, allowing me to put her other shoe on. She’s so cute.
We went downstairs, I got her milk, and asked if she wanted a bagel. “Yes,” she replied. Let the dog in, get my coffee together, gather our lunches and head out the door.
“Ehh ray ahsie”, she observes.
“Yes, it did rain outside,” I reply, as we walk out the front door.
“Dada ahsie!!” she exclaims, as she sees Daddy out front, organizing his van.
“Yes, Daddy is outside,” I answer with a smile.
Hugs and kisses for Daddy, and we are in the car, off to another day.
We get to Charlie’s school and much like every moment with our little girl, a surprise awaits. Will she cry, will she be OK? Ms. Sue and her twin sons, Luke and Ryan, are sitting on the book bench, in a cuddling fashion. I sit Charlie down next to them and Ms. Sue wraps her arm around her. There a split second when I’m sitting Charlie down that I don’t know whether she is going to cling to me for dear life, or if she’s going to let go.
Charlie talks about Luke and Ryan a lot, so I’m always hoping for that to come in handy. And today, it did.
“Bye, Mom,” said Ms. Sue. And with that, Charlie sat there, waving her hand with a huge smile on her face. Even when I started walking away, she still sat there, waving, grinning. I put my hand on my chest and gave that Mom-puppy-dog-face, holding back tears. Whether she cries for me, or waves good-bye to me, I always seem to be holding back tears. She’s my best friend and the love of my life.
Diagnosis during pregnancy 