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Tonight I was rambling around twitter as I often do now, and I came across a friend of a friend @Military_Mom. She'd just posted this message:
"Please pray like never before, my 2 yr old fell in the pool."
Then a friend @ShellyKramer broke the bad news. This mom's 2 year-old, a little boy, drowned.
I have a boy Will and he's 11. I've always been a bit superstitious about Will because he's my only child, despite several failed attempts at pregnancy. He's the boy who finds the rusty tin can if you know what I mean. He's had face glue and stitches and a rotator cuff problem. He's not the injury magnet that some other kids are but he's not exactly treading lightly in this world.
The other thing about Will is that he really is an extraordinary kid. He's just a gem of a human being. So I worry. About Will.
I remember first seeing the movie, "Stand by Me" and then reading the Stephen King short story, "The Body". In that story, a boy, a golden boy like my boy Will, dies while intervening on someone else's behalf. And deep down I've had this fear about my Will. First of all, he's a boy who would intervene. And he's my one and only.
I always worried because Will was my only child. I thought losing your only child would be worse than losing a child when you have other children. But I know now that can't be true. Losing a child, your only or one of three, is the same. It's unfathomable.
This morning I scolded Will for not logging his reading, for missing the bus, for being disorganized. Tonight I feel afraid. I feel thankful and guilty.
"Please pray like never before, my 2 yr old fell in the pool."
Then a friend @ShellyKramer broke the bad news. This mom's 2 year-old, a little boy, drowned.
I have a boy Will and he's 11. I've always been a bit superstitious about Will because he's my only child, despite several failed attempts at pregnancy. He's the boy who finds the rusty tin can if you know what I mean. He's had face glue and stitches and a rotator cuff problem. He's not the injury magnet that some other kids are but he's not exactly treading lightly in this world.
The other thing about Will is that he really is an extraordinary kid. He's just a gem of a human being. So I worry. About Will.
I remember first seeing the movie, "Stand by Me" and then reading the Stephen King short story, "The Body". In that story, a boy, a golden boy like my boy Will, dies while intervening on someone else's behalf. And deep down I've had this fear about my Will. First of all, he's a boy who would intervene. And he's my one and only.
I always worried because Will was my only child. I thought losing your only child would be worse than losing a child when you have other children. But I know now that can't be true. Losing a child, your only or one of three, is the same. It's unfathomable.
This morning I scolded Will for not logging his reading, for missing the bus, for being disorganized. Tonight I feel afraid. I feel thankful and guilty.
Beautiful post. Condolences go out to @Military_Mom 's lost child.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same about my children. The are the very air I breathe... without them there is no doubt, I would be suffocated by grief.
ReplyDeleteThis is a beautiful piece with a universal theme of a mommy's love.
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