Night, Night Monkey

    I waited many years to have a playmate/grandchild. Since she is not yet two, our play has mostly been me helping Brie learn how to use her baby toys, like how to move the buttons on her pop-up toy or turn the dial on the toy radio (which I'll explain to her when she can understand the concept of antiques) But my favorite game so far is "Night, night monkey".  When she was pregnant, Britten gave me a stuffed monkey that played a recording of Brie's prenatal heartbeat. Hearing the heartbeat of my unborn grandchild, holding a toy about the same size as a newborn baby, was the placeholder until the real deal granddaughter came along. When I found out my daughter-in-law, Emily, was pregnant, I retrieved the monkey from my closet shelf and displayed it on my dresser, a reminder to pray and dream once again. Since Friday's ultrasound, it is wearing the pink ribbon Britten had on it when she gave it to me. Emily is having a girl in October. Since my sister and I are both October babies, we think this is excellent.
    Because the monkey represented Brie before she was born, it seems only fair that she should get to play with it now. After all, I had a long turn. But the monkey is closely guarded lest the dogs assume it is their toy. If the dogs found it lying around, the heartbeat would be silenced in no time. Their toys have short and tragic lives. At first, we wrapped Monkey in a scarf just to make her look pretty. From there it morphed in the wordless way of playmates, into covering the monkey with the scarf/blanket and laying her down for night night.  When the heartbeat goes off, Brie says, "Monkey!" in the same scolding, but patient voice my daughter uses when Brie is being uncooperative. I am not showing her how to play with something, we are pretending together. It is only a taste of adventures to come, and it is a sweet taste.

   We share a time that I can keep

deep in my heart where memories sleep--

Night, Night Monkey.