letters – "MOM!"

Dearest Maria:

I still have to pinch myself to believe that you are already 7 years old and entering second grade. I have such a poor memory when it comes to people’s names or what I did last weekend but I remember every moment of your birth like it was happening now. You have planted your darling self front and center in my mind, and I am so appreciative. It allows me to easily go back to that Monday morning when I rose from bed and pulled up those running shorts and ran to the gym. I was so proud to be pregnant with a baby girl. All my gym rat buddies would stare at me in amazement as I lifted barbells and did squats around the perimeter of the floor.

“You are going to give birth to one big muscle” they would say.

And I did. You came out working those lungs and wiggling around making the nurses struggle to wrap you up. When they placed you in my arms, I looked down at you and there were those big black granite eyes looking right back at me. I felt you speaking to me before you could even say a word.

And now I watch you ride huge horses with complete confidence. I hear you talk to your little brother with such tenderness. I try to keep up with you as you peddle with such ease on your bike. I sit back and enjoy the eggs and bacon you cook for me some mornings. I watch you looking at yourself in the mirror as you brush your hair. And I think to myself “She is absolutely radiant.”

I hope you think the same.

Lately you have been commenting to me that you wish you had prettier hair or looked better in your clothes. I immediately respond to such nonsense by affirming your absolute all-around beauty and then tickling you madly (I think you continue to state such craziness sometimes just to be tickled and roll around on the bed with your mom!). I will make it a priority to keep you real and grounded this school year – to make you see how important it is to let go of such superficial concerns and just enjoy life – be silly and random and adventure-bound with tangled hair or not.

You are a gem to me and so many others (your dad being at the top of the list). Enjoy second grade my little pumpkin seed from heaven. I love you ferociously.

Mom

Mario woke up crying on Tuesday morning at 1 am. We went to the bathroom since he was complaining of stomach pains but no luck there. A half hour later, we were back in there again but this time he threw up. And threw up more. And this was the rest of our night. He finally fell asleep at 5:30 am and slept for a good two hours (took me back to the days when he was nursing!).

We left for the doctor’s appointment at 11 am and by noon we were at Children’s Hospital. The doc was concerned that he had appendicitis. All I could think of was emergency surgery, no Jon, recovery time, would he make it through…. I kept a smile on for Mario, though, who was a trooper through the tests and probes. After five hours, we got the news.

He has gas.

Ok, he actually had a gastrointestinal virus that caused his stomach ache and gas but I find the gas prognosis much more comical. It’s one of those things where you never wish for a serious prognosis but you also think “I just sat in this ER for five hours to hear that he has gas?!”

We went home and watched more Ben Ten then I ever care to watch again and ate Popsicles. By Wednesday morning, he was up and running and back to his Mario self. Unfortunately, all of the cuddling the day before transferred the bug my way and I was twisting and turning in bed wanting to feel better.

I knew how much Mario wanted to go to Swim Team try outs though so I got my tired self up and took him. He had to kick on the kick board and float on his back. He had to swim the breaststroke and freestyle. He did really well and his “coach” for the day, Lauren, told him so. She also told him she would look for him next week at practice. He shyly looked away and said “ok.”

He jumped out of the pool and dried off. Then he looked up at me and said “Mom, I am going to make Lauren a card that says thank you for teaching me to swim … and I am going to give her three dollars”

Bless his little heart. He hates to give away any money so for him to give her three bucks means she made a heck of an impression on him.

When we got home, he had a card waiting for him from Maria.

I read it to him and he just stared at it. When he finally looked up, he said “I really miss Ria.” I asked if he wanted to send her a card at Grandma Ionno’s house but he declined. He was off and playing with his Omnitrix. One letter was good enough for him.

"MOM!"

Adventures in the Life of a Working Mama

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A letter to my second grade daughter

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