Beauty Sleep

Lying next to her with my hand resting on her small side, I can feel every breath. She is pressed tight against me, confident in her security. As I brush the hair away from her face, I see that her eyes are closed, and she is finally asleep. I see the dim light on her small cheek as she sleeps. She holds a soft cloth she calls fuvie between her index and middle finger and unconsciously moves her fingers to feel the silk like material. My senses are filled with each aspect of her peaceful sleep. I softly whisper ‘I love you’.  As I gently slip out of her bed, her still wet thumb brushes across my forehead and she rolls on to her back. As the nightlight illuminates her face, her small lips smack and she plunges her thumb back in between them. She has her mom’s beauty. A soft, subtle beauty that I am sure exists solely to melt my heart. She is three, and for now she is daddy’s girl. As I softly slip in to the kitchen from her room, I hear a small foot step behind me. I turn and see my sweet daughter standing behind me holding fuvie, sucking her thumb in a cupcake printed nightgown. She inhales a slow deep breath and bellows. I HAVE TO GO TO THE POOOTTTTTTTTYYYYYYY DAD.