Saturday, April 22, 2006

Last night I watched Clara sleep. She was wearing a cute pyjama set; pink shorts and a pink top. She lay on her side, all curled up, her hands under her cheek and her hair kind of wavy lying around her on the pillow. She was breathing deeply and her belly was going up and down rhythmically. It was a perfect moment. While I watched her she changed positions; she sighed and smacked her lips. I wondered what she was dreaming about. As I watched her I couldn't help but think; this is not the body of my baby. This is the body of a girl. The position she was in and the sounds that she made were probably exactly how you'd find me in the middle of the night when I am sleeping deeply. How can that girl with the long legs be my daughter?

I know Clara is growing up logically. She learns new things, tries new things, tells me her ideas, and all that wonderful stuff but, despite all that, I have somehow managed to escape the fact that with every day, and every new accomplishment she is growing up and it is happening right in front of me.

Wow, this mothering thing sure is an emotional ride, especially when your eyes are opened in the dark sitting beside a girl in pink.

1 comment:

Natasha said...

How funny, now that I'm getting so close to having another baby, I've been looking at Mariella in the same way you've been looking at Clara. How did my little baby become this big girl? And am I not the luckiest mother in the world to have such a wonderful child? Robert Munsch sums up that feeling in Love you Forever: "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, As long as you're living, My baby you'll be."