Last Night With Carrie

RiiiiiiiiiiiiiiNG.....I reached for the cell phone and hit the talk button and her voice came across, easily recognized as she is the only 5yr that ever calls me.

"Nanny," she says, "would you like me to come visit and if the answer is yes, would you like to come get me"

and she pauses for more breath before continuing her one line paragraph

 "or should Ted bring me or Kristin?" and I heard her gasp for more oxygen.

"Sure Carrie, you can come and have Ted bring you."

And soon the patio door opens and she arrives. I really don't think she comes to visit me. It's her Poppy that attracts her attention immediately and the first thing she says is              "Where's Poppy?"

I flip my hand up over my right ear, indicating the hallway to the bedroom and she is gone. Soon she is back with his iPhone and speaking into the "cat app" he has downloaded for her. She speaks to the cute cartoon cat and it records her voice and repeats back to her what she has said. She can also record messages and replay them later. She can have the cat scratch itself, scratch the screen, swat the screen and fart.  I've yet to figure out what she finds so funny about the fart part of it but when I hear her uncontrolled bouts of giggling, I know what the cat is doing.

Within a few hours, Carrie's laughter was gone, her eyes were swollen and she was complaining of a sore throat. Thankfully she had bathed early in the evening and was in her pajamas. Some Robitussin cough and cold medicine, and a cool wet towel to her eyes, we moved to the bedroom. Within minutes she was asleep only to awake an hour later crying about her eyes. Reddened and matted together, I cleaned them and held her till she went back to sleep.

Last night was not a night of uninterrupted sleep, but then I didn't plan on it.

She would wake during the night and I would feel her hand find my face. She was checking to assure herself that I was still with her. Usually that was enough and she would go back to sleep. Occasionally her wakefulness was to request something to drink and to tell me her throat hurt.

0500 and a weak light peeks in over the head of the bed through the window there. She stirs and sits up and says "Nanny, my panties are wet. Can I have a dry pair?"  Carrie seldom has accidents and when it happens she is embarrassed.

I didn't make a big deal of it. I swung my feet to the floor and headed to the hall bathroom to collect the wipes and a big beach towel. The bed was barely wet.  After freshening her up and in her dry panties, I spread the beach towel on the bed, settled her back down and she was asleep again before I was back from the laundry room where I ditched her soiled underwear.

Back to bed for me but not to sleep. I had circled through the living room when returning from the laundry room and picked up my laptop. My night of rest was done. I stayed with her until she was in a deep sleep again, surfing the web while I waited.

I've been having my morning coffee, one ear tuned in to the bedroom where Carrie sleeps. 

When she wakes, I'll dress her and take her home to her mother then I'll take a nap. Right now, I'm off to get a shower while I have some free time left.

I'm done.