Will Drive for Sleep

The sun dances through the windows on a day that makes you excited to be alive.  You can feel the first signs of fall with just a slight nip of coolness in the air while the sun still heats up the afternoons.  I'm trying to see the day through my infant son's eyes as this is his first fall.  His first time to experience the smell of firewood burning in the air and the leaves beginning to fall from the trees in reds, oranges, and yellows.  We enjoy the day which I know will be one that will not be repeated too many times as the winter cold will bare down before long.  We play on the large front porch of our Victorian style home complete with wide white columns, and my son stops to look at the wind chimes clanging in the autumn breeze.  As he reaches for the chimes, I can see the concentration on his face and his eyes close as he fights to keep them open. 

This is the time of day with my son that I both dread and cherish...nap time.  I quickly scoop up the 19 pound, stocky, round baby who is getting heavier and heavier by the day and load him in the car seat.  Sleep can be a hard and fast battle with my son and on a day like to day where everything seems right in our small corner of the world I decide to let the vibrations and sounds of our Mitsubishi Endeavor and NPR Radio put my little one to bed.  After a few minutes of driving and the sounds of "Click and Clack" on the radio, I peak in my rear view mirror to look at my infant through a bear shaped mirror placed on the head rest of the back seat.  His eyes are closed, a peaceful look on his face and the warming autumn air blowing in his hair.  A perfect moment on a November day, but I know if the engine stops running my little one will start crying.  So I settle into the driver's seat and drive and drive past the neighborhoods near my home.  Yes, it is true I will drive for sleep.

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