Mary's bedtime

Mary and Daisy

When my daughter Mary was an infant, every day at around 6 p.m. she would start to cry for no reason at all. She didn’t need to be changed, she wasn’t hungry and she didn’t care if you held her, rocked her or lay her in her crib.  She just cried inconsolably.  Perhaps her tirade is better described as screaming like a banshee. Her face turned beet red, with her eyes tightly closed and her cherubic cheeks scrunched up.  We started calling it the 6 O’clock crazies.  The doctor seemed to think that it was just a normal build up of the days events that just had to be released somewhere. 

After the outburst was over, she slept.  Her face again took on that sweet, angelic appearance.  I grabbed a camera to capture this oh so serene moment.  When the photos were developed (those were the days of film and developing) I so loved the way she looked asleep that, much to her chagrin, I continued taking...and taking sleeping photos of her.

Throughout her life no matter how naughty she was during the day, when her eyes closed the halo was there.  So being the annoying mother (so I’m told) I am I grabbed my camera and snapped away.  When I wanted a smile, I pulled one of those photos out and I couldn’t control the involuntary “Awwwwwwww.”

Years passed and I snapped photo after photo.  I have dozens of sleeping Marys. I love and cherish them all, even the ones that show a gaping, drooling mouth. Of course she didn't appreciate them as much as I did, especially when I pulled the scrapbooks out for friends and relatives.  

From the archives of my old sketchbooks, is one of my very favorite sleepers…Mary and Daisy.  Yes she loved to sleep with kittens, hamsters, puppies, ducks, bunnies and whatever other cuddly critter she could sneak in.  "Awwwwwww!"

P.S.  This will be my last post for a few days because Wednesday I am on my way to Texas to witness the graduation of my son from basic training.  See you all on Sunday….with tales of my western adventures Yee ha!

I believe that this also qualifies for Mr. Toasts "Creative Tuesdays." Many thanks for getting me thinking about my old "Bedtime" memories.

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