She's falling, falling....

There is nothing quite so beautiful as taking the time to sit and watch one's tiny offspring as she falls asleep. It's certainly a process, this sleep business. Harriet and I just arrived home from the local swimming pool, the two of us completely wrung out from playing Mummy Turtle, Baby Turtle. She has only recently learned to swim properly and she fights the water with all her might from the moment she enters the pool until the last desperate struggle to the water's edge at home time. I am never allowed to help her or hold her in the water anymore, for this would make her a failure she reckons. She's out there on her own, arms flailing, twirling and swirling, dipping under and then above the water. My heart is always in the my throat!
We arrived home and ate fruit and sandwiches while she chatted about her busy morning, about ballet dancing, Grandma, Leo Lion, the moon, her friend Rosina's adenoids. You name it, she talked about it at the speed of light. She could talk under water and regrettably, I lose patience with her millions of questions each day. When I have the time, however, I sit incredulously, just listening to this little curly creature before me. I helped create her! She is totally ours!
And now, now my friends she is nuzzled into my thigh. Silent as a Eudlo night. Perfect.
First of all she lay beside me, asking me to pat her. She never does this! I think the teacher might pat her at kindergarten. She tells me: "Mummy, you are Manda. And I am baby Hatty. Pat me gently to sleep Manda. OK?" I turn on the fan and watch its gentle breeze bringing her curls to life on my thigh. She snuggles into her prized "Silky" blanket and methodically finds all the bumpy bits. It's her meditation. She has been to Nirvana with that blanket, I can just see it in her eyes.
Anyway, the lips start to quiver. They have done the same thing since she was a baby. Next go the eyes; up and down, round and round. Lips now rubbing furiously together, eyes matching their speed. Unbelievable to watch it happening before my eyes! It feels almost like an invasion of her space, spying on her at such a private moment. God, she is beautiful.
And then, just as quickly as her eyes and lips had sprung to life, they stop. Her entire body just stops, and I can hear a raspy breath. The only movement is in her fiery hair. She loves the fan on her skin. Just like her mama.
Harriet, I adore you.