Earliest memory

This morning, as the veil of sleep was still floating in the air, my daughter and I were snuggled together under the covers. I was dozing, and she was humming softly and tracing my face with her fingers.

I slowly opened my eyes and looked at her….this child that I once carried inside of me and longed to see for 9 long months. As I gazed at her, she stretched and I could still see the babyness in her hands and face. I thought about my pregnancy and remembered feeling her movements inside of me. I wondered how much babies remember of the warmth of the womb and for how long they retain that memory.

As she hummed softly I asked her “Do you remember being inside my belly?”

She stopped and looked at me and said “Yes”, so I asked her what she remembered.

She said it was warm. I asked her if it was light or dark, and she said “It could have been light, but I couldn’t see anything”.

So I asked “Could you hear anything?”

And without missing a beat she said “Yes, I could hear your heart beating”.