We wave to her with our left hand, right hand, sometimes even both hands. We pick her dusty stalks of lavender from the sensory trail and climb onto our knees to grab her handfuls of star-shaped leaves from the Japanese maple. We let her put our helmet on and listen when she says to hold her hand, even though there’s a cat, two donkeys, and a spider web more deserving of our attention. She’s our Mom and this week we tell her thanks.
We don’t always make it easy on her. There’ve been weeks where we spend the first 15 minutes of our half-hour session refusing to come out of the bathroom, insisting that as a little boy of 9 we are perfectly capable of going by ourselves. Or the days where we channel our inner Olympian and make a mad dash for the nearest hooved animal, Mom calmly, or not so calmly, telling us to freeze.
But then there are the days where we do her proud. We follow directions, keep our hands to ourselves, and remember to say please. We use our iPad to choose between a ball or ring, and don’t circumvent the activity by instead asking for a green M&M. The answer is more often yes than no, and we remember to get a sticker not only for ourselves, but for our little sister as well.
We want to take
this opportunity to tell all of our Moms, whether they’re volunteers, patients’ parents, fellow staffers, or just fans, how much we love them. Even if we can’t always find the right way to say it, know that we think you’re pretty great. Whether we get you chocolate or make you breakfast in bed, buy you a dozen roses or present you with a handful of rosemary, know that we’re thinking of you and the many ways you make our lives wonderful.
