The Mother of All Dilemmas by Kathleen G Woods

Author:Kathleen G Woods [Woods, Kathleen Guthrie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781737304807
Publisher: Kathleen Guthrie Woods

1Music by Jeff Blumenkranz, lyrics by Annie Kessler and Libby Saines.

19

PASSING THE BABY BATON

Leading up to my last day, I grocery shopped and prepped food so Kathy and Carrie could get back into their groove and enjoy their reunion with Jake instead of dealing with mundane tasks. I steamed veggies, put small servings in containers for quick Jakey lunch assemblies, caught up on the laundry, watered the plants, and vacuumed all the traffic areas. I also organized my stuff, packed what I wouldn’t need for my last day and flight home, and moved it all from the bedroom out to the living room. Keeping busy was better than allowing myself to relax, which would open me up to the flow of emotions that threatened to bring on a new big-girl meltdown. At least I had good things to show for my efforts.

In addition to being pleased with myself for being such a thoughtful houseguest, I was quite proud of myself for handing over Jake in great shape upon Carrie and Kathy’s return. By some miracle, there were no cuts, no scratches, no bruises, not so much as a runny nose. Gold star for Aunt Kath!

On their first full day home, before the day had even reached the halfway mark, Jake took several diggers and face plants, resulting in cuts, scratches, and bruises. None of which were my fault! I felt a wee bit better about the…ahem…tumbles he had taken on my watch.

In the early afternoon, we were all in the master bedroom while Carrie unpacked and Kathy downloaded photos to their computer. I sat on the floor while Jake ran around pulling things from suitcases and entertaining himself with my shoes.

He ran over to Kathy, apparently expecting her to catch him and pull him up into her lap, but she missed. Instead, he tripped over his and her feet, slipped down the front of the desk chair, and whacked his head on the base of the chair. Hard. There would be a bump and a bruise. He cried hard, and Kathy scooped him up to comfort him.

“That was totally my fault,” she said by way of apology to Jake and to all of us in general. As an experienced mom, I could commiserate with her about how kids so easily get hurt at this age, and how they recover just fine.

Though I was sad Jake was hurt, I was surprised to sense that I was calm and that there was a bit of a sting in experiencing the shifting of responsibilities.

He’s no longer on my watch, I thought to myself.

It was a bittersweet realization.

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