Archive for love
Team Hoyt – A true story, and inspiration, of parental love
Posted by: | CommentsYesterday I had a chance to tell my 7 yr old the story of Dick and Rick Hoyt, the amazing Father/Son team that has been running Boston Marathon’s, among other races, for years. It’s a story that has always grabbed my attention and my heart. What I found, though, is that I got so choked up trying to tell my daughter the story that I couldn’t continue! Of course, all it went straight over her head and she just wrote it off as “mom being weird”. She sees this kind of emotion from me whenever a movie, or even a commercial, really hits at the core of what’s important to me. And believe me, there’s nothing more important to me than my kids. That’s why I am full of awe and admiration when it comes to the Hoyts. Would I do the same, if our situations were reversed? I would like to think to so. I hope so. But one can never know until faced with the same daunting challenges.
What about you? Are there other families, like the Hoyts, who you admire and can share their stories here? Or, more simply, do you find yourself amazed at how a movie, book, or even sappy commercial can sometimes move you to tears?
Mom-tears spring from all sources, but always based in love
Posted by: | CommentsI had an interesting set of experiences yesterday. I had to take 1.5 yr old my son to the doctor’s to get a blood culture. They pricked him three times and couldn’t get any blood. He was screaming as I laid across him, trying to keep his small body still enough on the examining table so they could put the needles in safely. We tried for at least 20 mins. He was shocked by the pain, and also by the fact that I was letting this happen to him. Once that was done, the nurses then gave him an antibiotic shot that they told me was very painful. The poor little guy slept for almost four hours after the ordeal.
I wanted to cry, too. On the third prick, I got tears in my eyes, but I knew I had to keep it together for my son. Later that day I was in the grocery store and some child, probably around three, was having a whale of a tantrum in the check out line. His mother was desparately trying to calm him, even as he started to hit her. I’m sure it seemed to her that the whole store could hear him. Finally, her eyes started to well up, too – clearly out of frustration, feeling overwhelmed, probably exhausted, and who knows what else was going on in her life.
I wanted so badly to help her but didn’t know what I could do. The grocery bagger helped her out to her car, and the cashier gave her a hug. I whispered to her that it would be alright at she walked by, but I think I just embarrassed her more. I really felt for her and got a little teary-eyed myself. Maybe it was just the day, but I really think all of us mothers are pulling for each other and fully empathize when we see another sister struggling.
It made me think about how much we love our babies and how we cry when they’re hurt, we cry when they frustrate us, and we cry when they shower us with unconditional love – from the scribbled drawing to the hug around our necks. What a wild ride this is!