Sleeping Beauty

A damp cold fills the air. The wind howls. However today, for me, has been tranquil, quiet, peaceful. I got out of bed, dressed for work, and headed out the door. A cold rain hit my face as I made my way to the car. I started to drive. No music. Hardly a car in sight other than my own. I entered the building and went up to shift report. No arguements from the staff. Everyone was in a good mood. I went up to my floor and spent a quiet day with my residents. No problems, no complaints. After work, I went to the gym. Unlike when I usually go, it was not crowded. I did not have to wait to get on the treadmill or any of the weight machines. I felt an inner peace all day long which continued throughout my workout. Came home feeling refreshed and calm. I walked down the empty hallway and peeked into my Sheila's room. I found her just as the enclosed photograph portrays. I looked at her sleeping there. My poor sleeping baby. She takes care of her eldest brother's three girls all week long and this Saturday, for her, was spent watching her other brother's two boys. I remembered back to when she was a small child. The times I used to spend rocking her to sleep while singing her a lullaby. I looked at her sleeping face and mixed emotions of sadness and joy filled my heart. Sadness in the fact that sometime in the not to distant future, I will no longer be able to come home and find my little beauty sound asleep. For she will have found a life of her own away from me. Also a joy in the fact that my little sleeping beauty has grown up to be a very kind, compassionate, and caring individual with so much to offer this world. But where ever her life leads her, the memory of this moment as I watched my little sleeping beauty will be etched in my mind and in my heart for all eternity.