I want my Mommy!

I’m six years old, sleeping alone in my bedroom upstairs. I wake up from a very real nightmare. All I can think of is getting to my mommy as soon as possible. I don’t have to. She hears me scream and comes running up the stairs. She takes me in her arms, holding me so close that I become a part of her. “There, there,” she says soothingly. “It was just a bad dream. Everything is alright now. Mummy’s here.” I immediately calm down. All is right in my small world.

When we grow up and experience frightening, devastating or traumatic events, wouldn’t it be nice to be held once again in the arms of a loving mother, hopefully your own?

My mother has been gone for over fourteen years. I remember that as late as in my 50s I would go to her for a comforting hug when life got difficult. How wonderful that hug felt. When, as adults, do we outgrow that need? Never, I say. But not all of us have access to a kind and loving mother.

Some of us have dear friends, spouses or partners that offer open arms and loving hearts. Know that is a blessing, although it may still pale in comparison to your memories of mother.

When I am at the bottom, which doesn’t happen often, be it illness or depression, at the deepest core of my being I want my mother and the immeasurable comfort that her arms and soothing words brought to me. But she’s not here. What do I do? What do you do? I think about her. I imagine her. I hug my husband whose arms are broad and enveloping and ready at a moment’s notice. I have a sister who hugs me over the phone and a horse who lets me hug her and look into her big, brown, wise eyes for answers. I have two cats that I can hug and who consistently make me smile.

We all have our “go-to” people and/or animals in times of crisis. But to me, nothing compares to the original comforter, Mommy.  :))