By far being a mother is one of the hardest things I have ever done. Today as I write this my head is heavy and I feel like the bags under my eyes are half way down my face. I know I’m exhausted and I feel like I haven’t slept in years. There are times when I think that I can’t do this. I often wonder how single mothers cope alone and I admit I have a huge amount of respect for them, they deserve a medal!
In among the tears, sleepless nights and sometimes offensively disgusting nappy changes there are moments of absolute joy and yesterday was one of these.
As I sat in a cafe with my son I could see that he was looking at something behind us. I turned to see that he was smiling at two elderly ladies. As I got up to leave one of the ladies commented on what a beautiful baby I had and asked if I would mind if her 94 year old mother could see him up close. She commented that she didn’t have any children of her own and that her mother loved babies and would be so happy if she could just touch his hand.
I was happy to oblige and sat Gus down in front of the older lady and watched as she studied his face and stroked his hand. He flashed her one of his biggest smiles and tears welled up in her eyes.
It was priceless to see the look of happiness on her face and all it took was the smile from a baby. She was so grateful and kept thanking me for allowing it; it was humbling to know that such a small act of kindness meant the world to someone else. It made me realize that although there are hard times, I appreciate that I get to see his smile every day and for this I am grateful.
