WORRIED MOM NO MORE

A mom of one of my students unexpectedly called this morning. Last week, I texted her to ask for any progress on her child’s therapy but I didn’t get an answer. Over the phone, she mumbled an excuse which I perfectly understood for a curt reply translated to “give me a breathing space while I try to absorb all that’s happening with my child.” I may have felt the same way if I were in her shoes so I just let it pass.

She’s called to inform me that she’s with her kid today who’s attending a speech therapy session. She mentioned about the counseling session that her child and the whole family were required to undergo. She gave me the impression that she wasn’t expecting to engage in this kind of activity too soon. There was despair in her voice and had to calm her. I could sense she felt guilty for the condition of her child which, any mother would spare her child to avoid ridicule or difficulty that may affect her child’s future.

See, mothers could go at any length to make sure their kids would grow well and she is no exception to this. Her intelligent child had a trauma which she can’t trace where and how it originated. She just knows her child’s life is not as normal as she would have expected it to be. She is awfully bothered and would willingly seek any intervention to help her child improve.

A child draws strength from his parents especially his mother. And while any mother would put a brave front on her kid, she’s really not as strong as you think. She crumbles for fear of not succeeding and not getting things right. “What if the therapy won’t work? What if my child’s condition will not improve? What if my absence has caused this to my child? What if I am a terrible mother despite trying to make ends meet?” These questions are actually in the back burner put off by a mother built with significant high hopes and optimism. On the other hand, these can also trigger anxiety to a mother when her emotions run low.

They say a mother is like a lighthouse. Most of the time, she can see what’s coming ahead, shed her light and anticipate better than anyone. She can map out solutions that would work best confronting her child. She can and will prevent harm from knocking on her child’s door. Although, she does not have all the might to prevent the things that are bound to happen to her offspring/s; she cannot predict the minutest that the future brings; and she does not have the answers to all the questions - as with all of us.

Yet as long as a mother (like her) would try to instinctively act tough and do what’s right for her child, she’s doing a good job. When her child is quite grown-up, he’ll be the one to reassure her, that despite the complications of life, she is a great mother and an endearing one.

Heartland

Somewhere in a tranquil place of Norzagaray
A retreat house lies
Isolated from the cluttering city noise.

We arrived late afternoon
Our eyes feasted on the verdant trees shrouding the hills
With perfect view of a cloud-draped mountainside
The shy kisses of the gentle wind greeted us
And we were all like kids wanting to laze around
That idyllic piece of heartland.

The chimes glided playfully
As if inviting us in that blissful edifice
Made to soothe baffled souls.

Silence was so pure
We were engulfed in a somber mood
The kids were in whispers
The murmur of their soft grunts filled the room
While soft music was played for reflection
Set certainly for a retreat.

That night, the shrilling sound of cicadas echoed
Along with the sound of children weeping
Of fear and confusion
Of love and faith
Awakened emotions in slumber
There were only silhouettes of innocence in darkness.

And the morning came
The birds hummed with delight
The sun bathed the room and its rays reached for a warm embrace
The thrill of a new day was invigorating
The cheery teens were up and awake
With tears no more.

We were summoned by the bells
To jubilantly fill up our appetite
And then the cravings of the heart.

It was quite an eventful journey
Without loud whimpers this time
Only infectious laughter and brief pauses to breathe.

It has got to be the place that tamed them
And the affirmations of kindness
Meant to last
Hopefully, a lifetime.