August 11th

While contemplating something new and interesting to highlight in my day (for your reading pleasure, naturally), I was prompted to think of the first thing I noticed today (thanks, Kris!).

And it struck me in an instant - Lucy slept through the night!

A most potent reason for gratitude if ever I did strike one!

Any parent will attest that a night of unbroken sleep is a magnificent blessing, one that has you ready to shuffle on your knees to an altar, to deliver offerings to the sleep gods and goddesses, while still in your pj's, rubbing crud out of your eyes, all the while grinning like an insanely happy idiot.

I can count the number of times my girl has slept through the night on one hand, with fingers left over.

Did I mention she's five in six weeks?

When I say "slept through" - I mean does not wake from the moment she falls asleep at half seven pm, to the time she wakes up and demands porridge at around half six am.

I got over it about two years ago, the not sleeping through thing.

I was like most first timers.  Waiting for that magical time when my uninterrupted sleeps would be mine again.

Six weeks?  Not even I was that naive *grin*.

Six months?  It's possible....

12 months!  Um, nope... okay.

By two - SURELY by two!....? No?

My girl was never much of a sleeper (we've been through this before, I'll save you the lament).  I don't know why I thought it would *magically* change at a given age.  Or what would make it change?!  I laugh affectionately at my ever-hopeful self of years past.  I just thank the goddesses I was content to bedshare with my button, cos I can't imagine the zombie I would be now if I had needed to *get up* to her every time she woke and called - oh gosh.  No, let's not even contemplate what THAT person might look like.  Eep!

She was lying in bed with me yesterday and planning our bed linen for our next change.  She was suggesting pink (she knows I don't care much for the colour, however she adores it).  I said she might want her own bed by the time the next linen change comes.  She told me quite matter of factly that, no, she doesn't think so.  She informed me she was going to sleep with me forever.

I smiled a genuine heartfelt smile at that (it took a few years to get to that happy place).  I know she won't be in my bed forever but I do so love our snuggles for the half a week she's with me.  And I know I'll miss them when she does eventually decide to have her own sleeping space.

So I'm grateful for four things today (and here's me wondering earlier what I could write about!).

One - that my babe slept through the night.  Which meant two things: her body had uninterrupted time to heal and mine had uninterrupted time to recharge.

Two - that my girl, at five, still chooses to snuggle up with me every night.  I believe there is a real energetic and psychic connection that happens between people that share sleeping spaces.  Energetically traveling into the astral world while your physical bodies are so close... Aside from the fact that huge trust exists between two people that choose to be at their most vulnerable, with each other.

Three, that my wee girl appears to be on the mend.  No out of the ordinary bodily excretions today.  Great appetite (comparatively) and lots of giggles and hilarity tonight.  She even got off the couch!  I eagerly anticipate a continued upswing tomorrow.

And four - the heart-swelling, kindness and thoughtfulness of wee friends.

And the stickers did indeed cheer her up.
Thank you sweet friends.