it’s no state secret (or SAR secret in hong kong’s case) that children are extremely adorable when sleeping. between the triumverate’s 6.45 bedtime and my bedtime, i usually check on them three or four times. smooth covers, push arms out between slats, remove plush toys if i think they are too close to mouths. that sort of thing. sebastian (who goes down at 7.30pm), will require re-adjusting; that boy slides around a bed like john travolta on the dance floor.

i like admiring them in their repose, and silence, and stillness.

the other night, i was doing my second to last rounds, had checked out jasper and carys and was just finishing with sela, when olivia the loud cat followed me in to the nursery. charles and i had locked her out of our room (my eyes were bothering me) and she was delighted to see me. and meowed loudly. and again. and once more.

suddenly, i heard that unmistakable, adorable sound: crumply nappies shifting. a quick look at the cots revealed that sela was awake.

i have mentioned before that sela has her own brand of jetlag: people are her caffeine. i knew if she saw me in her room, she would snap into wakefulness immediately. and be ready to play and loudly indignant when her requests were denied.

i panicked and did the only thing i could think of: i ducked.

i was between sela and carys’ cots. heart beating. panicking. trying to keep my balance and keep olivia silent.

the silence suggested sela was trying to get back to sleep. i smiled, hearing her slurp away on her ever comforting thumb.

however, olivia meowed again, and i heard thuck! as thumb was removed from face. and crumpling, as sela shifted and got herself into a sitting position. i stayed silent, until i saw her hand wrap itself around a cot slat.

i was hidden from her by the bumper, but as olivia continued to wind herself around my legs and try to jump into my lap, i knew i was going to be busted. the situation was so outrageous, i had to look away before i laughed with the incredulousness of my predicament and really got sela excited.

my eyes rested on carys, who is our noisiest sleeper. she has these very gentle snores and just loves resting her head on a pillow as she drifts off to sleep. and something else..she is growing. she looked such a big girl, sleeping on her side and stretching.

my ruminations were interrupted by a squeal. slowly, guiltily i looked up, and i saw one pair of green eyes, staring at me, and even in the semi-dark i could see my daughter had recognised me and was smiling.

at this point, magnificent charles passed by the room and asked what on earth was going on. logically, he thought i had dropped something or was trying to usher olivia out of the room. he wasn’t expecting to hear my synopsis. he laughed, observed sela’s growing anticipation of playtimes, and said,

put sela down, turn and walk away.

i got as far as the laying her down bit, but then she burst into tears.

she’ll stop soon, and wont wake any of the others, predicted magchar.

he was right. it was funny.

i admit to being guilty of occasionally hiding from sebastian when i am trying to finish something savoury that i don’t want to share (!), but i figured i had at least one more year before i was hiding from the triumverate. especially when they’re sleeping!!!