My Pencie Noo Noo

This morning before daylight I got a special treat.  I'm not talking about the migraine headache that began at 2am and persisted until well after five ibuprofen and sunrise.  No.  After being awake most of the night, I had given up on sleep, and I was shopping online for new running clothes-- did you know they make really cute running skirts now?  No matter.  Near dawn, I heard footsteps on the stairs, and I assumed it was Denver.  I left the office to check.

There on the stairs was my nine and a half year old Spencer.  "I had a really bad dream," he said.  I put down my coffee cup and led him to the living room.  After turning on the fireplace, we sat in the rocking chair with a sleeping bag around us.  He didn't want to talk about his dream.  So I just began to rock him.  We hadn't done that for . . . how long?  Months?  A year?

As we sat in the dark, cozy comfort of the living room, I began to sing to him.  I remembered a favorite song from his infancy.  I thought he was asleep.  I sang it anyway.  Afterward, he hugged me tightly.  My Pencie Noo Noo.  Almost too big for my lap; but if we wiggle and turn just right, he still fits.  Ahhh....and my headache is going away. 

Spencer plays with magnets at the Tellus Museum.