It was a warm night, dozens of fireflies winking nearby, hundreds of stars winking above.  Katie pulled hard at her leash, straining to get to the tent set up in the backyard.  But once inside she just wasn’t ready to sleep.  We tried.  Far off dogs barking, nearby deer wandering, cars driving by; it all riled Katie, and in turn me.  At 1:00 a.m., after 3 hours of attempting to sleep in the silky warm night air, I gave up and we went inside.

Once settled on the familiar bed, ceiling fan twirling, window open, she fell sound asleep, but I was wide awake.  I wasn’t barking at every sound from outside, but I certainly wasn’t yawning either, though I was extremely tired.  Another hour went by.  Katie rolled over onto her back, her favorite way to sleep, propped up against me.  Past 2 a.m., I was wide awake and Katie  softly snoring, her little feet twitching while she dreamed of chasing those deer into the warm summer night.

Another Katie adventure ended just the way she likes them to;  pressed up against her Mama, safe and sound, free to dream.