Delightful Amnesia

We were playing peek-a-boo. I would unfurl her pink fleece blanket over her entire body and then whip it off to make her shriek with delight. Our simple game had been going for about five minutes and my toddler had decomposed into a mess of giggles.

Once again I flung the blanket over her tiny body. And then everything went blank. I heard myself asking, "where's Pixie," in a stranger's voice and thought, 'what an odd sounding name.' I looked puzzled down at the blanket with a squirming bulge underneath and couldn't for the life of me think of who might lie underneath. Off came the blanket. There, laughing up at me lay the most beautiful little girl imaginable. She had bright blue eyes full of glee and gave me a look of pure adoration. "Here I am, Mommy!" she yelled and to my surprise she flung her arms around my neck in an intense embrace.

In an instant, it all came rushing back. She was mine. My mental black-out only lasted 2 seconds tops but it was enough time for me to understand for the first time how truly lucky I was to be Ms. Pixie's mother. The unexpected outsider's perspective left no question as to the overwhelming blessing of motherhood. She was mine.