The Sweet Sound of ‘Mama’

Here’s how I imagined it would go down.

After a restful two-hour nap, my sweet little boy wakes up and let’s out a yawn. I hear him shuffle and make my way to his crib. He greets me with his beautiful brown eyes and a wide smile, showing off all seven of his teeny-tiny pearly whites. I can’t help but match his silly grin with one of my own. Just when I think it couldn’t be humanly possible for me to be more blessed, he opens his mouth and so sweetly utters the word ‘mama’. My heart explodes with pride and joy. 

Here’s how it actually went down.

After a long day, I have a tired little boy on my hands. We played, we read, we sang, we talked, and we danced. Now it’s time for bed. The truth is I am more tired than he is. Months of sleepless nights have left me exhausted – some days more than others. Today, I need 10 minutes to put my head down and close my eyes, hear my own thoughts, and clear my head. Luckily, my husband is home to help with bed time. He holds our tired little boy, trying to entice him with a warm bottle of milk. Our determined son pays no attention to his father’s kind beckons. He bellows. He screams. He lets out shrieks of terror (which, by the way, I am certain has the neighbours concerned). He does a full body lunge in my direction to escape his dad’s hold. Muffled in his hysterical cries, he utters the word ‘mama’. 

My heart explodes with pride and joy.