Down the Rabbit Hole

Thankful

I am thankful for the mornings when Jaden sits up in the space between our bodies and smiles at me sleepily. I know it is a bad habit to let her sleep with us, but when she wakes in the dead of night, it is just too hard to struggle with getting her back to her own bed. I let her curl up against me and within seconds, she's snoring softly. We can get at least four more hours of interrupted sleep this way and aside from that, those first moments when she wakes up are the sweetest ones in my entire day. This morning she woke up, on her tenth month birthday, cheeks flushed from teething and her forehead slightly warm under my lips. She stared at me for a few minutes in the dim light. Her big blue eyes, still something I consider a genetic miracle, regard me with a quiet reverence that made me go still inside with the wonder of it all.

I am thankful for the evenings, when Fatih comes home and scoops Jaden up, covering her with kisses and the soft Turkish words of endearment she is beginning to understand. With her little face pressed into his neck, I can hear her muffled giggles and squeals of joy. When he releases her, her eyes are bright and sparkling and her smile floods the dim room with light. Watching the two of them together, I feel more blessed then I could have ever thought possible.