July 19, 2005

Tonight was one of those moments I will never forget. You had been having trouble getting to sleep. I heard you up there rustling, singing, reading. Then it was quiet for a bit and I thought you had gone to sleep. Then someone set a firework off very close outside, and you woke up crying "I'm scared". I went upstairs to rock you for a little bit. We were snuggly in the chair and I was trying to point out fireflies through the window, but you didn't know what I was trying to show you. So I took you outside, and managed to catch one on my hand. It lit up once just before it flew away. From then on you were oohing and ahhing and reaching out your little hand to touch them. Pointing all over the sky to show me, "There's one Mama!." Then the frogs in the pond starting making all kinds of noises. At first, you were a little unsure, but I told you it was just frogs talking and since you are quite familiar with frogs (we send them flying into the water when we walk around the pond) you relaxed. Then I started imitating the sounds they were making and you thought that was funny, so you tried it too. "dumpf" you'd say over and over laughing hysterically. Your Dada and I couldn't stop smiling and laughing too. You were so pleased with yourself. Then we looked at the moon for a while, but the skeeters found us and we went inside. I read you Goodnight Moon, and Dada rocked you for a while and now I think you are asleep. I know I will never forget the look in your eyes the first time you saw a firefly.