naptime

I subbed today in a Montessori class of 2.5 to 5 year olds. They have a two hour naptime after lunch in the afternoon. I can't quite express what a strange and wonderful feeling it was to be in a room full of napping youngsters. I spent most of the time observing how funny and adorable they all looked while they slept. Some children couldn't fall asleep as easily as others and that's when they look at me with hope-filled eyes. I patted the backs of two little girls (oddly both named Isabella) for about twenty minutes waiting until both their eyelids drooped with heaviness. About an hour into naptime a little boy named Jackson was still squirming on his cot trying to find a way to sleep. I asked him if he wanted me to stay by his side and he nodded at me looking on with his big bright blue eyes. So he stayed on his back and I gently brushed my hand on his head in a calm, soothing motion. In five minutes he was asleep. It was neat to watch his hand grip the corner of his blanket tightly and then as time progressed in that five minute span watch his fingers relax and fall to the will of gravity. I absolutely loved and adored those two hours. I thought of a lot of things during that time and one thing in particular being when I have children of my own. I know I'll still be able to treasure and adore those moments when my son or daughter asks me to rub his or her back for them to drift to dreamland. I can watch their eyelids flutter with movement as their eyes dart back and forth in their dreams. Watch the rise and fall of their breath as it balances out for the night's journey. Hum a low lullaby as the soundtrack to their slumber. One day my naptime dream will come true.