I lay in bed Sunday morning, with 2 small, wiggly bodies cuddled up to me and thought “this is the best Mother’s day ever.” I had already enjoyed strawberries and cream hand delivered by my strawberry blonde 2 year old, and a Mickey Mouse pancake complete with M&Ms my 3 year old added for the eyes and the mouth. And then we snuggled up together with hugs and kisses to watch Winnie the Pooh. It was beyond delightful. As a mother, I can’t imagine a more perfect moment than holding my 2 little ones in my arms in the midst of contentment and relative quiet.
On Friday I went to a Mother’s Day luncheon at their preschool. My darlings both got up and sang a song for me with their class. My 2 year-old’s song rings in my mind over and over in these days that have followed “On Mother’s day, on Mother’s day, oh how I love you, Mommy.” Could anything be sweeter in life than those words coming from the mouth of a precious baby? She grins and sings in her 2 year old dialect, it’s an image I can’t get out of my mind.
I put them to bed that night and my little one called out, as she’s been doing for the last week “Mommy, I need you.” She would not be consoled unless I lay down with her while she drifted off to sleep. I hope that I’ll always remember this particular Mother’s day as the years pass by and my babies inevitably grow up.
I know another mother who surely will never forget this Mother’s day either. I’m sure this year defined the day for the rest of her life, and I wonder if she will ever again “celebrate” on Mother’s day. As I put 2 sweet girls to bed, she rushed her young daughter to the emergency room. As I watched 2 pairs of eyes close in slumber, she watched her daughter’s eyes close, never to open again.
The next morning, after ushering my 2 girls to school, I arrived at work to learn about the tragedy unfolding, the loss of a beloved little girl on Mother’s day. It’s a loss I can’t even begin to comprehend. These little people arrive, new and fresh. Though you’ve never met them, within moments they become the most precious, most treasured thing you’ll ever see in your whole life. I can’t sleep at night until I’ve checked to make sure they’re breathing. Day after day, hundreds of days have come and gone and they continue to wake up, and yet I still worry that they might not wake up one morning and my whole heart would shatter.
What would my life be like without the sparkling eyes of a giggly 2-year old singing “oh how I yuv, oo, Mommy”? How could the world continue to turn without the twirling dance of a blonde 3 year old in a Cinderella dress? How can another mother breathe even as her little girl lies breathless? How can a day to celebrate mothers, a day that is defined by our children, be filled with such wonderful contentment and such gut-wrenching pain? How can Mother’s day exist ever again for that mother? What can I wish for that mother who is living my worst nightmare? Selfishly I hope I will never understand her pain, that my years will be filled with Mickey Mouse pancakes and giggling girls, year in and year out. Truly I know that neither of us will ever see Mother’s day the same way again.
On Friday I went to a Mother’s Day luncheon at their preschool. My darlings both got up and sang a song for me with their class. My 2 year-old’s song rings in my mind over and over in these days that have followed “On Mother’s day, on Mother’s day, oh how I love you, Mommy.” Could anything be sweeter in life than those words coming from the mouth of a precious baby? She grins and sings in her 2 year old dialect, it’s an image I can’t get out of my mind.
I put them to bed that night and my little one called out, as she’s been doing for the last week “Mommy, I need you.” She would not be consoled unless I lay down with her while she drifted off to sleep. I hope that I’ll always remember this particular Mother’s day as the years pass by and my babies inevitably grow up.
I know another mother who surely will never forget this Mother’s day either. I’m sure this year defined the day for the rest of her life, and I wonder if she will ever again “celebrate” on Mother’s day. As I put 2 sweet girls to bed, she rushed her young daughter to the emergency room. As I watched 2 pairs of eyes close in slumber, she watched her daughter’s eyes close, never to open again.
The next morning, after ushering my 2 girls to school, I arrived at work to learn about the tragedy unfolding, the loss of a beloved little girl on Mother’s day. It’s a loss I can’t even begin to comprehend. These little people arrive, new and fresh. Though you’ve never met them, within moments they become the most precious, most treasured thing you’ll ever see in your whole life. I can’t sleep at night until I’ve checked to make sure they’re breathing. Day after day, hundreds of days have come and gone and they continue to wake up, and yet I still worry that they might not wake up one morning and my whole heart would shatter.
What would my life be like without the sparkling eyes of a giggly 2-year old singing “oh how I yuv, oo, Mommy”? How could the world continue to turn without the twirling dance of a blonde 3 year old in a Cinderella dress? How can another mother breathe even as her little girl lies breathless? How can a day to celebrate mothers, a day that is defined by our children, be filled with such wonderful contentment and such gut-wrenching pain? How can Mother’s day exist ever again for that mother? What can I wish for that mother who is living my worst nightmare? Selfishly I hope I will never understand her pain, that my years will be filled with Mickey Mouse pancakes and giggling girls, year in and year out. Truly I know that neither of us will ever see Mother’s day the same way again.
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