153 Seconds
She started asking for time to crawl up in my lap and just sit there. Most of the time it was right after a nice warm bubble bath. I would wrap my Nina in her towel, and she would wrap her little arms around my neck and just sit. I would tell her that I needed to get her dried off, so that she wouldn’t get a chill. But, she would say, “Mommy, can you hold me for 153 seconds?”
I remembered thinking how odd it was, her asking for that specific amount of time. She even asked me once how long that was, and I explained that it was just over two and a half minutes. She smiled and said, “See? Just a little while, Mommy.” And, she was right, so why deny that? Just a little while to shut out the world and keep her warm. She would close her eyes and just sit, curled up in my lap. I loved the noise we didn’t make, and the smell of the lavender bath water.
The seconds were nice for me, too, for everyone really. Her big sister could sit without Nina nagging her about sharing some stuffed animal. My husband wouldn’t have to hear the two of them giggling over something extremely silly that always seems to happen after 7:30 PM. Not sure if this happens in other homes, but my girls tend to get very silly the closer it gets to bedtime. Then again, the giggles aren’t all that annoying — rather sweet actually.
But, this little moment in time was just ours. She started asking for this time at age three, then off and on again over the years. She’s nine now, and often forgets to stop and just close her eyes with me for 153 seconds. But now when she remembers, she steps out of the shower, wraps up in her towel, and sits in my lap, cupping her head under my chin with her eyes closed. She’s still worth every second.
