A Late Night Mishap

So last night was wild, really wild. It all started when I got home super late from work and my little was waiting up for me in this tiny pajamas that made her look so small it nearly broke my heart. We've been doing a lot of the little space stuff lately, even though she's firmly in her twenties, something about feeling cared for, I guess. Anyway, we were playing with some old toys and suddenly she was just... crying, really hard like everything was too much all at once. And before I knew it, I had this impulse to parent, you know? So I did. I talked to her as if she was a child who needed comfort and guidance, which isn't exactly new ground for us but the intensity of that night felt different somehow. I ended up putting her in bed early, tucking her under covers with a stuffed animal that she loves, it's like something out of a movie. She fell asleep quickly after I read a bit from a children’s book about kindness and being brave. Looking back, there was just so much emotion swirling around for both of us, the kind where you feel like you could drown in feelings but somehow also feel incredibly alive. I remember getting into bed beside her to stay close for a while after she fell asleep. There's this calm that comes with taking care of someone who trusts you completely. It’s so rare and intimate. But I didn't want to risk waking her by moving too much, so I just stayed there until the night wore off. That morning when she woke up, we talked about it a bit more and laughed at how silly it felt but also how good it was for both of us in that moment. It's these little instances that keep me coming back to this type of play even though it can feel risky or out there sometimes.