When I was 4 years old I remember my dad waking me up in the middle of the night. In the dark he snuck me downstairs and we had our own little date night. He popped a bag of popcorn and we watched the movie Lady and the Tramp all while the rest of my family slept. I am the 2nd of 5 children so to be singled out this way was a HUGE deal. I am sure little episodes like this happened with all five of us but to me I felt sooo special and so very important. This was a simple thing but as you can see, 30 years later I am still thinking about it. Well last night I woke up at 3:30am and could not get back to sleep. That night with my dad came to my mind and I had an idea...I crept into Elle's room and in the dark I whispered her name. Her sleepy little eyes opened and I said, "Elle, it's mama. Do you want to go downstairs with me and have some cereal...just the two of us"? She sat right up and with a huge grin on her face she started shaking her head yes. The two of us went down into the kitchen and without turning on even one light, we got the milk and the cheerios out. She started out sitting right next to me but by mid-bowl my cute little Ellers was sitting in my lap. With just the moonlight shining in on us from outside our kitchen window we had our special time. I told her a few of my very favorite things that I loved about her and tried to express how much I love her. She is my little girl, forever. With no preschool on Fridays Elle was able to sleep in as late as she wanted. When she came downstairs this morning, I gave her a little wink with my eye. It was our little secret and I can't wait for another bowl of moonlit cheerios with my Elle.
