O can’t possibly be starting school. We need more time. I’m not done making up for the time we lost.
I didn’t get to walk around proudly sporting my baby bump or attend any ante natal classes when I was pregnant, and I couldn’t attend any mother and baby classes after O was born, or make friends with any other new mum’s. I was WAY too sick for all that. For the first 18 months of O’s life, I was predominantly housebound, and consequently, so was he.
Then, just as my health finally began improving (thanks to meds), and we were gradually becoming more active and able to leave the house – the pandemic hit, and we were told to stay home.
O and I only really joined the outside world once the world re-opened its doors. And we’ve been grabbing life with both hands ever since. Apart from the days when my ME/POTS is flaring up. We just grab the remote on those days. But even then, we’re together – all day.
It’s going to be weird not having my little sidekick around all the time, making me laugh, challenging my imagination – and my sanity. It will seem so quiet, going places on my own. I may even feel sad not hearing his loud voice when I’m using a public toilet, shouting, “ARE YOU DOING A POO, MUMMY!” (the answer is always an equally loud “NO!”)
Still, while my baby is (hopefully) having the time of his life at school, learning new things and making new friends – I look back on the years we missed out on, and realise that, in a way, we were lucky. By staying home for the first 2 years of O’s life, we had the gift of time. Time for all the cuddles in the world, time for O to sleep in my arms whenever he wanted, time to gaze adoringly at each other, time to pull faces and play, time for his tiny body to grow, and time for mine to rest. Precious time for just the two of us.
We may have experienced less from the outside world, but what we gained from our little bubble is so much more: a bond that’s stronger than … (I’ll let O finish this sentence for me) … The HULK!
He smashed being housebound when I was severely unwell, then Covid lockdown, and finally … joining the outside world. Now, my little superhero is ready to smash his first day at school.
I’m SUCH a proud Mama! 🥰
