Whispers in the Dark

We laid in her bed, face to face, covers pulled up to our chins, exchanging our favorite events of the day. The room was dark, with only our shadows from the dimly lit Princess night light.

We talked about her day at school, who had to sit in the "thinking chair", who was the line leader, and what she ate for snack. She shared details of the story that was read, how she received a candy cane, and how Ms Marci had a box with lights in it. We talked about Christmas and what we thought Santa would bring. She asked about GrandMom, Pop, Mom Mom, and Pop Pop coming for Christmas and then declared "that would be fun!" She explained why she wanted to see Ava this weekend, and that she was going to take her "Ariel blanket" and her sleeping bag. She has never been light with words, but tonight, she was more talkative than ever. And so, I caught myself smiling at her in the dark thinking back to when I was a kid.

I remember spending weeks in the summer at my Mimi and Pa's house. Each night while I was there, we would turn off the lights, Mimi would crawl in the bed with me under the dim lit light of a Mockingbird, and we would chat. I don't know how much time really passed during those nightly chats all those years ago, but to me it felt like hours. We talked of nothing in particular...no conversation do I specifically remember. What I do remember about our nightly chats is how I felt I could say anything in the dark.

Just like those nights I remember with my Mimi, the conversation with my daughter on this night ended with many commands of "It's time to go to sleep now" and a few more confessions before her words fell silent.

While I laid there watching her fall asleep, I couldn't help but think back to those nights spent with my Mimi twenty years ago. How I can still see the shadows in the room, smell the crispness of the sheets, and feel the comfort of our shared conversation. I am so thankful for those moments and hope my daughter and I will always be able to share whispers in the dark.