The gift

3 December 2010

So tonight I am a bit tired. I have found the cure for all insomniacs! Get more kids, especially the two year old ones, they work best. You see U2 is in the country and our friends asked if we could babysit their little angel for the night.

Your first thought would be that they drove me insane, right? Though it hardly was the case. My kids are at the age where they are the perfect little helpers when babysitting. They were exemplary and very good at making whatever they do everyone's focus. Our visiting angel, Melissa was even better. Sweet as honey and so well behaved.

But here's the thing. She is so tiny and so brave, that I was an awed spectator. At age two she just once asked for her mommy although I sensed that the question was foremost in her mind. I feel honored to receive the trust of such an innocent. She looked at me with those chocolate brown eyes and and my heart would melt. It was as if she wanted to say; "I know your not my mommy, but I am willing to give you a chance". What a rare gift it is to be trusted by one so little?

It wakes me up to think that sometimes I take the trust my own kids bestow on me for granted. I think  the weight of that trust fell on me tonight (together with keeping a constant watchful eye of course...) and that somehow gave me the gift of just being DEAD TIRED. Hallelujah.