Helpless Mother

I don’t know which is worse- being a well mother far away from your sick child, or being a sick child all alone away from your mother. Carter got sick in the middle of her work day. She called me from her office and I told her she needed to go home.

For the rest of the day I have had an hourly call from her and it is killing me as a Mother that I am not there. Not that I can do anything more than I am telling her to do on the phone, but just to be her mommy.

Once when I as in my early twenties and lived alone in DC, I got a stomach virus that was so bad that I was delirious. I went to bed and woke up two days later and had no idea where the time had gone. It was very disconcerting to lose days like that.

Back then we didn’t have cell phones, we didn’t text or even have email. I was too sick to dial a phone and if mine even rang I probably was to sick to hear it.

Carter lives alone, but she did make sure to check with me that I had her best friend’s cell phone in case Carter didn’t respond to my calls. I don’t think she has anything like what I had, probably the stomach bug, but I am still sorry I am not there. Once a mother always a mother.