i want my mommy!

there's been plenty of that sentiment expressed in our house lately, with the boys being sick and all. but after four days of caring for our ill babes with jordan, with none of us seemingly that much improved, i found myself wanting and needing my mom more and more.

it's tough when your family lives far away. in moments like these, i've realized why people make it such a priority to stay in their "hometown," close to a network of family and friends who can be there in a moment's notice to help with the hard times. you take it for granted how important this is until you hit a major glitch, and no matter how hard you try, those glitches happen.

and so it was on sunday when i called my mom in chicago, on the verge of tears, with a healthy dose of snot about to pour out..."mom, i need you." and that was all that needed to be said. eight hours later, at midnight, she arrived in austin.

jordan picked her up from the airport and somehow i managed to be sleeping when she came in. i think the double dose of nyquil finally gave me enough relief to rest, which i desperately needed. we awoke the next morning at 7am to the sounds of talking and laughter in the boys room - sweet, sweet sounds given what we had been hearing for many days. i almost thought i was still sleeping. could the boys be back to their usual morning gab fest with each other? we put on our robes and walked to the nursery to find abie, ozzy and my mom sitting in a circle playing with the stacking ring and reading a book. there were smiles all around. and those smiles were huge!

having my mom, and the boys' grandma, in our house yesterday was like a shot of relief i haven't felt in a long time. peace and calm were restored. we all felt better, instantly. you could tell the boys were sick, but man, were they excited to have their lee-lee back. you can tell they love her that much.

i managed to get a doctor's appointment for myself that afternoon and jordan came home to help my mom with the boys. when i came home 2 hours later, i found everyone in the living room playing contentedly. jordan looked at me with utter bewilderment and said, "it's like they have never been sick. they have been happy as clams this whole time." they proceeded to eat more for dinner then all the food combined over the past 5 days.

i hope that the boys have finally turned a corner. sure, they are still congested and coughing like crazy, but i so hope the misery is over. and sure, you can say that my mom came just in time to see them turn that corner. but i choose to believe something different. something more powerful and innate about what a mother, and now a grandmother, brings to a home.

i think this past day has taught me, in more ways than what i've experienced this past year, what it means to be a mother. that no matter what happens, no matter how old i am, i always have my mom. she will always be here for me. and feeling her embrace, no matter how old i get, is one of the best feelings on earth.