Last night I had the joy of sharing an extremely precious moment with my son. It was one of those moments that will carve out its own spot in my heart and be remembered intimately. Like the first moment I nursed him. Or the moment when the colic ended and infancy began. Or the moment when he first recognized me as his mother. Well, you get the picture.

Jacob has this habit of getting out of bed numerous times after being tucked in for the evening. He hops down and gathers toys from his toy box. Or he turns on his light in order to see the pages of whatever book he stashed under the covers earlier in the day. Sometimes he just comes out and asks for another hug or kiss. I was working on the computer last night when I heard Jacob get in and out of bed a couple times. I used my uber-mommy hearing and knew that he had shut the door a couple times; a large indication that he was ‘looking’ for something.

I decided to stop what I was doing, give him some sugar, and tuck him back in. When I opened his door he was sitting up in bed using his stuffed animals as hats. He smiled at me…

“Mommy, I’m awake.”

“Yes, Jacob. I see that. Why aren’t you sleeping?” (I moved to sit on the edge of the bed)

“Because I’m awake.”

“Would you like me to stay for a few?” (I move to the opposite side and grab a pillow)

“Yea!”

He immediately jumped out of bed and began to do what can only be described as ‘setting the mood.’ He scurried around the room in his little dinosaur pajamas. First, he quietly shut the door. Next, he set a little ‘mood music’ and turned on his musical birds. He crawled back up in bed and pulled a blanket over both of us.

“Now we sleep, mommy.”

He closed his eyes and smiled. I stayed right beside him, my arms wrapped around him, and felt him breathe steadily and quietly. I thought about how lucky some nice girl would be someday when she gets him for a husband. I thought about how special it was that, right now, I am the only lady in his life and the only one he would want to sleep next to him. I thought about how this little boy has allowed me to hold him in my lap, read to him each day, dress him in a skirt, and teach him silly sayings. I thought about my only boy. My son. My Jacob. I thought about how, for those few precious moments, he gave me the joy of knowing that, right there with him, all was right with the world.

I love you, Jakers!