Shadow People

Jackson woke up at 6 AM and wanted to eat. I, the ever obliging mother, got up to nurse him. Before putting him back down to sleep, I changed his diaper. Upon being picked up from the changing pad, he noticed, seemingly for the first time, our shadows on the wall.

Jackson sleeps with the dim light of a small lamp that rests on the bookshelf across from his crib. It gives enough light for late-night diaper changes, but not much else if no light is coming through the window. That is, not much else other than to cast shadows on the wall.

We paused to watch the shadow people. Jackson kept turning his head back and forth between the wall and me, a look of wonderment in his eyes. I held up my hand and made a goose and then a dog, accompanied by their respective noises. I moved his little arms so he could see that he too could make the shadows move. He giggled.

I snuggled him in close for a minute, kissed his little forehead, and tucked him back into his warm crib. I love these magical moments of childhood learning.