Pacific Nights

According to the Mayo Clinic, the use of the pacifier is subject to great indifference of late. A great host of researchers would have you believe that over-use of these handy devices increases the risk of ear infections. Tonight however, we have given our ears a measure of rest with the introduction of the pacifier. Tua has a sucking reflex that would put an Electrolux out of business. When she's not eating or sleeping she is most comfortable in motion. When those of us who would provide that motion are otherwise occupied with tasks that require more static energies, Tua must sit and watch. Tonight, as we sat eating our evening meal, she sat at the other end of the table and watched patiently for about two minutes. Bug and I are pretty low key at meals. We generally keep to topics of medium volume and temper and when it comes to the presentation of the meal itself, we are about as plain as day old milk. What followed was an all out wail of displeasure. It might well have been boredom that led to this but it was not easy to quell. Carrying from room to room seemed to quiet her slightly but it was not enough. I spied an unopened box of infant pacifiers on a nightstand during one of my fifty laps with her around the house so I picked it up and read the back. It read "Designed for infant use only. Boil before use. Keep out of reach of children." Our dinner had cooled to pre-meal temperature by this point so we decided it might be time to put the tool to use. At first, Tua perished all thought of having some foreign object in her mouth but after a minute or so, she began to toke away at the pacifier. Her quick puffs reminded me of a man I knew once who kept a lit pipe in his mouth all hours of the day, sucking away at the sweet leaf as he worked, ate and rested.
Anyroad, Tua sucked away at this pacifier for the better part of ten minutes at which point, she drifted off into a deep sleep. I reached down to remove it from her mouth and was amazed to find her still in her grip as I pulled it away from her.
It's just past 10 pm and the babe is asleep soundly, cuddled up in pink and yellow blankets. I would have taken a picture and added it to this post but Tua inherited my habit of a light sleep- she wakes up for flashes.