In the dark of the night

His cry pierces the night and wakes me from my slumber. I lie in bed and wait to see if it's a sleep cry or if he actually needs me.

It turns into a real cry, so up I get and in I go, to soothe him and help him fall back to sleep.

In the dim of the nightlight, rocking him back and forth, his eyes find mine, and he smiles ever so slightly. He is comforted in knowing that I am there.

As we rock, his lullabies slowly lull me to sleep, while he grabs everything he can, tapping me on the chest, fighting falling back to sleep.

Slowly, he rubs his eyes and yawns, and I know that sleep is coming.

He tucks his head into the crook of my arm and sighs his sleepy sigh.

I wait, knowing that moving him too soon will mean we will start the whole process over again.

So I watch him, loving this moment. Knowing that before too long, he won't need me to fall asleep, he won't need me to rock him. He won't fit so easily on my lap in our rocking chair.

As much as I hate being woken in the night, I love these little moments. Where it's just him and me, cuddling on the chair, waiting for sleep.

And the next time he wakes me from my precious sleep, I will remember how much I love these moments, and how they will be gone far too quickly.