And if you love them every day and call them your whole world,
\nthen when the temperature spikes and a salvo of coughs begins\u2014
\nAnd the eyes that usually sparkle with joy and mischief are \u201cclouded\u201d by illness\u2026
\nYou realize you can love even stronger.<\/p>\n
Nothing else seems important.
\nNot sleepless nights.
\nNot missed workdays.
\nNot the tuft of unwashed hair sticking out at the back of your head.
\nNot the unpleasant little \u201cblemish\u201d you notice in the mirror.<\/p>\n
\u201cGive me the illnesses,\u201d Mom would say, stroking my forehead, once again warm from a fever.<\/p>\n
And I, snug in my fluffed-up bed and tasting the menu of delicious dishes drifting from the kitchen, didn\u2019t understand why being sick was scary.<\/p>\n
The only thing I feared was the spinning phone dial at night, when both Dad and Mom exchanged a knowing look and winked, \u201ccall,\u201d
\nand soon, before me appeared the summoned company in white coats.<\/p>\n
And then Aunt Saul\u0117.
\nWho would \u201cvisit\u201d Mom when I was ill.
\n\u201cOver\u201d coffee.<\/p>\n
And somehow, appearing in the doorway, armed with Mom\u2019s boiled syringe,
\nand in no way living up to her name \u201cSaul\u0117,\u201d she would \u201ccloud\u201d my cozy sickbed
\nwith the question:
\n\u201cSo, which side shall we let today?\u201d
\nBefore she finished the sentence, I\u2019d hurl my little neck across the whole apartment.<\/p>\n
More?
\nBeing a \u201cpatient\u201d meant more love, care, delicious food, coloring books, longer bedtime stories\u2026<\/p>\n
And \u201cattendance\u201d\u2014when Grandma or Aunties rushed to see the poor little patient,
\nthey\u2019d sit down with gifts for me again.<\/p>\n
And I, in my little bed, like a stork in its nest, would wait, head held high.<\/p>\n
And Mom worried.
\nShe\u2019d rush from work to check on me.
\nCall on the landline.
\nMore often than seems possible.
\nTake me to little massages and inhalations.
\nThen, at the pharmacy, buying the desperately craved glucose tablets with vitamin C.
\nAnd she was ready to do everything the doctor advised\u2014and then twice as much.
\nOr maybe even three times.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs long as you get better quickly,\u201d she would nod.<\/p>\n
Back then, I didn\u2019t understand her.
\nIt\u2019s nothing, just a \u201cbit\u201d sick.
\nBut now.
\nLoving.
\nSpoiling.
\nHolding in my arms.
\nAnd not knowing what else to do\u2014what else to make, just so they\u2019ll eat something, drink more,
\nand smile more widely.
\nAnd for their eyes to brighten\u2026<\/p>\n
I understand.<\/p>\n
And I whisper into their little ear:
\n\u201cGive me all your illnesses\u2026\u201d
\nSo that you don\u2019t have to suffer.<\/p>\n
For Moms.
\nV.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","class_list":["post-17770","istorija","type-istorija","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/viktorijos.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/istorija\/17770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/viktorijos.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/istorija"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/viktorijos.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/istorija"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/viktorijos.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}