💾 Archived View for alioop.flounder.online › motherhood › bassinet.gmi captured on 2024-08-31 at 12:03:21. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content
⬅️ Previous capture (2024-06-16)
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
when i was pregnant
we moved new furniture into our bedroom
donated our king-sized bed
which had been squeezed into the space
and downgraded to a queen
so that there would be more room at the bedside
for a bassinet
to hold our baby
we were gifted the bassinet
and it was my favorite gift
i assembled it
sliding the metal bars into place
pulling the mesh into place
washing the fitted sheet
and wrapping it around the thin and firm mattress
i set the whole thing neatly by our bed
suspended next to my side
in our tidy room
with our new furniture
and vacuumed carpeted floor
and i stood back and looked
at the empty
peanut-shaped basket
and tried to picture a baby in there
a baby
sleeping next to me on my side of the bed
and tonight
when i go up to bed
i enter our room
with the glow of the salt lamp
and the box fan already droning
i tiptoe in
sidestepping the board that creaks
gently closing the door
so that the latch doesn’t click too loudly
and i look at my side of the bed
unmade
laundry piled on the footboard
the yoga ball taking up space
floor littered with books and a toy knocked down by the cats
socks and clothes
and binkies that rolled out-of-sight
and i look at the most perfect baby
fast asleep in this bassinet
face pressed against the mesh
eyes closed, lashes together
cheeks pushed forward
lips pouted
chest rising and falling almost imperceptibly
little hands resting on the wrinkled fitted sheet
my mind’s eye was never this powerful
to have pictured such a perfect sight
i need to sleep
but i could watch her for hours
if she were to rest that long, that is
i cherish this bassinet
that once held only potential
and now holds what’s most precious to me
my baby
sleeping next to me
on my side of the bed
in the bassinet
•••
11/18/23