The Walk

The pre-nap walk involves circling the central portion of our Cape’s first floor. Around and around, slowly, past the stairs, through the dining room (over sleeping dogs, as often as not), into the kitchen, around the kitchen table (sometimes), past the bathroom, into the living room, and past the stairs again. There are three mirrors along this journey, and after two or three trips around the circuit it’s worth glancing in one or another of the mirrors to see if baby’s eyes are closed. It used to take me a number of tries before I’d see her eyes closed, so much so that she used to wait to catch my eye in the mirror, knowing I’d be looking there with great interest. Now, she has frequently shut her eyes before my first mirror-check. When I do catch our reflection and see her sleeping form draped over my shoulder it is probably the closest to heaven that I have experienced, or need to experience.