Festive Fireworks in Mama\u2019s Sky
\nor
\nThe Nth Story About \u201cGrab the Reins\u2014Back to the Start Again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Memory struggles to reach back to those Christmas and holiday seasons when we celebrated the most anticipated holidays of the year with everyone healthy and strong.
\nOne falls into bed, another has a stomach ache, then the house is visited by choruses of coughs or the words reaching your ears: \u201cMom, I don\u2019t feel well\u201d\u2014the little salutes in the sky where cozy waiting stars were supposed to twinkle magically.
\nA mama\u2019s eyes widen, her hearing sharpens, and I feel myself sigh the \u201cgrab the reins\u2014back to the start again\u201d kind of breath.<\/p>\n
This year is no exception.
\nBefore Christmas Eve, the house began echoing with volleys of coughs.
\nDelivered with all the sincerity of Mykolas, the administrator of everyone\u2019s affairs.
\nDran-dan-dan.
\nAnd once again, inhalers light up around the house, and cupboard surfaces are \u201coccupied\u201d with drops, syrups, and neatly arranged cups of herbal tea.<\/p>\n
The volleys fire all day.
\nThey don\u2019t stop at night.
\nMama\u2019s smartwatch scolds with the small number of hours slept and keeps \u201csending\u201d messages with insistent vibrations: \u201cAre you forgetting to rest?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, brats,\u201d I think to myself, \u201cif I weren\u2019t a Mama, at least I could celebrate Christmas in peace.
\nI\u2019d sit with a glass of red wine and slowly gaze out the window, losing track of the hours.<\/p>\n
No \u2018just don\u2019t get sick\u2019 prayers that end up making someone ill.
\nNo secretly sent letters with desired gifts to be fulfilled in the tight schedule of time.
\nNo Christmas trees, no pretend play, no holiday championships.
\nNo early-morning or late-night messages: \u2018Mom, I totally forgot to tell you to bring this and that \/ congratulate the third and fifth.\u2019
\nNo learned poems to recite, no bringing a rabbit\/badger or anyone else\u2019s costume.
\nNo post-holiday doctor appointment requests, and no prescriptions to rush to the crowded on-duty pharmacy.<\/p>\n
No\u2026 no\u2026 no\u2026
\nJust peace.
\nWhich I sometimes (okay, maybe more often than sometimes) envy in those who either don\u2019t have children yet or already have grown ones.<\/p>\n
Suddenly, night falls silent at home.
\nEgo lazily turns in its bed.
\nBig and \u201cvolley shooter.\u201d
\nCozy, like from the pages of a storybook, arms tucked under plump cheeks.
\nI gaze at the little bed, counting the scarce hours\u2014or minutes\u2014of sleep.
\nAnd only when curled under the covers do I hear the words of dreaming Mykolas:
\n\u201cMykalas loves mam\u016b.\u201d (Author\u2019s note: Mykolas loves Mama).<\/p>\n
I fall asleep burying myself into the pillow.
\nOr perhaps more than the pillow\u2014into the knowledge that being a Mama, with all its challenges, tasks, little accidents, illnesses, and \u201cgrab the reins\u2014back to the start again\u201d moments, is something I wouldn\u2019t trade for anything.
\nNo matter how many \u201cturbo-charged\u201d Christmas seasons generous fate decides to hand us in the future.<\/p>\n
Wishes to the healthy, and even bigger ones to the volley-coughers and their devoted nurses.
\nIf you\u2019re simmering with the feeling, \u201cWhy AGAIN?\u201d
\nI embrace you with a hug of solidarity.<\/p>\n
Mua,
\nV.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","class_list":["post-17817","istorija","type-istorija","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/viktorijos.lt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/istorija\/17817","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=17817"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}