Travels with my Daughter

My little girl dresses herself for bed every night.

She's in love with fashion and funky accessories, so the deal has been that I dress her during the day, but she gets to dress herself for bed. In this - there are no rules. Some nights she wears dresses, some nights, cute little skirts and tops. Rarely, does she actually wear pajamas. She likes to set out her bedtime ensembles when she gets home from school, as though her dreams are going to be fabulous journeys for which she must dress the part.

She is girly. She is extravagant. She sparkles.

I seem to be traveling my own magical highways these past few weeks. My usual bland sleep has been transformed into grand expeditions. I wake up with cobwebs of dreams at the edge of my memory and the sweet, but unsettling, emotions that accompanied them. I like to think that my girl and I are living delicious and secret lives in our sleep every night.

It takes a few years off my old soul when I go on heart-racing adventures, or fly the nighttime skies in my slumbers. I’ve been waking in love, in anticipation, in laughter, and in nostalgia – like I’ve shaken off layers of myself and found my center again.

I don’t know if it’s something I’ve eaten. Or maybe it’s all the exercise. Whatever is causing these unusually vivid dreams, I’m enjoying this season of my life and I hope they continue.

We all need our secrets, our dreams, our wishful thoughts. Mine have been visiting me nightly, reminding me not to discard them.

Maybe Addison’s are as well.
I can only wonder where she’s going each night when I tuck her in to sleep.

Graphics were found here: http://graphicsfairy.blogspot.com