Tenderness
I just carried a sleeping child into the house. Every time I do that it makes me think back to my father and faking sleep as we neared the driveway. And him carrying me into the house even though I'm sure he knew I wasn't really asleep.
And THAT makes me think of an excerpt from a short story that I like:
'Oh my darling, Clementine' I join in, high and sweet. I tug the brim of my Deadwood cowboy hat over my eyes. Dad bought me the hat, red with white embroidery, in South Dakota. I love it. In Yellowstone, the hat blew off and landed on the crusty edge of a bubbling hot mudpot, two yards out, just far enough so that my father couldn't reach it. While I cried and my mother screamed, my father hopped the boardwalk fence, tiptoed past the Danger sign, and retrieved the hat. You've got to harmonize with someone who would do that for you. I chime in as Dad starts, 'You are lost...'
From Broken Vows
by Joan Connor
And THAT makes me think of an excerpt from a short story that I like:
'Oh my darling, Clementine' I join in, high and sweet. I tug the brim of my Deadwood cowboy hat over my eyes. Dad bought me the hat, red with white embroidery, in South Dakota. I love it. In Yellowstone, the hat blew off and landed on the crusty edge of a bubbling hot mudpot, two yards out, just far enough so that my father couldn't reach it. While I cried and my mother screamed, my father hopped the boardwalk fence, tiptoed past the Danger sign, and retrieved the hat. You've got to harmonize with someone who would do that for you. I chime in as Dad starts, 'You are lost...'
From Broken Vows
by Joan Connor
posted by ccap at 6:37 PM
4 Comments:
Ah yes, I remember that fake sleeping. And if I remember correctly, at least once I detected a smile on his lips that, upon later reflection, probably meant "I know you're not sleeping, but I don't care because I want to carry you inside anyway."
I still so clearly remember that, too. And I've had the privilege of doing the same for my kids. I've thought about it many times as I've carried sleeping or faking children into the house.
What's especially precious to me about this is the deeper understanding I now have of his love for us.
I did the very same thing! We weren't a really "huggy" family so being carried into the house was so sweet.
what is it about being in the half-sleep, near-sleep state that we are so open to wanting what we most want? we're so honest as children, but especially when we're almost asleep. and babies... they are SO adorable when they're fast asleep... oh...
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