Hugs

Today we had another first. T & I were in the kitchen; I was washing dishes and he was in his usual place these days, hovering over the fan of the humidifier, rubbing his fingers over the protective grating, grinding his teeth and grunting at it. This is typical behavior for him, such an everyday occurrence that he will sometimes do this for minutes without my noticing it. But something happened today when he stood up – I heard the unmistakable sound of a head hitting something. I turned around and saw T standing there, his little face turning red and pouty and concerned while he held his head. Clearly, he was in some pain. Then, remarkably, after I said “Oh, did you hit your head, honey?” he walked over to me, put his head against my tummy and leaned into me.

He wanted a hug. He wanted to be consoled.

I stood there, holding him against me, suspended between the heartache a mom feels when her child is hurting, and the sheer, almost tearful delight I felt over his coming to me for comfort.

I’m sorry he bumped his head, but I have had a very warm feeling all afternoon since I was able to console my son today.