a shared moment

Standing in the bathroom, I leaned a little and looked into Raine's room. I looked into the face of "Mama Tiger" (or sometimes it is called "Daddy Tiger," depending) who seemed to be leaning a little to look out in the hall at me. The tiger is a big, white, stuffed tiger that Raine has had on her bed since she moved out of the crib into a real bed. Then, we set it between Raine and the wall, so that she wouldn't fall off the bed on that side. Now, it shares the foot of her bed with rotating kid flotsam. The moment we shared was one of those, "I've got her back" moments that caretakers tend to share now and again when their charges are not in sight. It was a comforting moment to share. With a big, stuffed tiger.