Every night, about an hour after he goes down, I quietly enter Miles’s bedroom to check on him. I make sure he’s situated snugly in bed, that his covers are on, and I dim his night light. Usually, even when I have to tug him back into the center of his bed, he sleeps through it all.
Tonight, as I pulled his blanket out from under him and resituated it over him, his eyes blinked open. “Hi daddy,” he said as he closed his eyes again.
“Hey buddy,” I whispered. As he shuffled to get comfortable, I asked him if he wanted to cuddle with Mickey or one of his other stuffed animals.
“No I want to cuddle with Daddy,” he replied, barely conscious.
I knelt down next to his bed and he seized my arm, clutching it tightly as he fell back asleep. There’s no doubt this kid runs us ragged, and at the end of the day there’s nothing I want to do more than sit down and relax, but I also know that Miles won’t always want to cuddle up as he falls asleep, and I intend to take full advantage of it while I can.
The Perils (& Pride) of Paternity 