Through The Tears

Today was rough, you guys. Like really really REALLY rough.
Kenneth is boycotting naps and also boycotting any sort of decent stretches of sleep at night.
She's overtired and cranky ALL day and all she wants me to do is hold her and bounce.
I can't put her down even if I'm sitting right next to her, so forget about putting her down and leaving the room to grab something.Today was incredibly overwhelming and as we were on hour 4 of her screaming tonight she finally fell asleep and I was browsing facebook and came across this

"Take a long deep breath and remember when she cries she's crying for you.  You're her world and you're the best, most equipped person for that job.  While children begin to understand object permanence around 4-7 months, they will not fully understand it until 18-24 months.  When they don't see you they think you no longer exist.  They're crying because they love you, because you know them the best, because the world is cold and sad without you.  And remember not too long from now they'll be running away from you because they want to play just a little bit longer."

So of course I started crying.  My tears mixed with the recently dried tears that stained Kenneth's perfectly chubby cheeks.  I put my phone down and I held her.  I took in her smell, the creases in her hands, the way her fingers were perfectly wrapped around mine.  I held her close, rocked her and promised to always keep her world as warm and happy as possible.