Flu-ridden mother with a broken spirit

Seventh day…. With the flu. Oh the hell. Carlos has been working night and day at the restaurant lately and I’ve been going out of my mind roaming our tiny apartment like a caged tiger, ill-equipped to take care of my cub. So with a broken spirit I migrated with the little one to my parents house for a couple of days to take the load off. When we stay over, my parents always offer us the master bedroom. A small price to pay for having their grandson staying for a weekend *wink wink*. Because it’s the biggest bed in the house and Carlos was staying at our flat my mom snuggled with me and Leon in my parents bed last night.

Now here’s an example of how awesome mothers are. My mom is a heavy sleeper. She slept through all the feedings of the night. Then at 5 am I woke up, nursed Leon while literally coughing my lungs out the whole time. I went to the bathroom to change his diaper. Then we went back to bed and still my mom was sound asleep. I tried to put Leon back to sleep but obviously it is quite difficult to sooth a baby while coughing up a storm. Mom: zzzz… like a rock. This went on for some time. Leon complaining, me coughing. Close to tears with frustration I murmured in the softest barely audible voice: “mamma”. And THAT woke her up. By pure motherly instinct she sensed that I needed her at that exact moment. Or maybe it’s the power of that word “mom”. She had slept through every cough and nose blow, Leon protesting, us getting out of bed for a fresh nappy and back in. But now she was up and there to give me some much needed comfort. She got me a glass of water, some throat drops and helped me put Leon back to sleep. There was something extremely poetic about the situation. Three generations. Two mothers giving their children the comfort that they needed to make it through the night.

I am 30 years old and I still look to my mother when I need warmth and comfort. I always will. I can only hope my son will feel the same way about me as he grows older.