I awoke to her moans on the monitor. She was an hour and half early. “She’ll put herself back to sleep,” I thought. Twenty minutes later she was fussing off and on. Only later did I discover the culprit of her early start to the day – a new tooth. But my body reluctantly led itself through the dark hallway to her room. “I just want to check on her,” I reassured Matt. I crept into her room. After a minute she sensed my presence, immediately stood up and flung her arms at me. I picked her up. Who could have resisted? She motioned for blankey with a grunt. So Rachael, blankey, and I traveled back to the ever-so-desired reward of Mommy and Daddy’s bed. After laying there a few minutes I opened my eyes to discover her browns studying my face. We exchanged browns for browns for a moment as she rubbed the sleep indicator part on her right ear. I thought in that instance, “What in the world makes me this privileged to be her Mother? What did I do to earn her complete comfort and trust?” I felt her inhales and exhales with ease. An unspeakable thankfulness flooded from my heart to my Maker. I flashed her a smile. I could see her smile lines twitch around her pacifier. And then she leaned in and rubbed her forehead on my face. And there she chose to remain until her forehead slipped to my lips and she nuzzled in closer.

What in the world did I do to deserve this unconditional love?

Nothing.

And yet still what a cherished moment…

I have been given.

– Thank You, thank You. –