Last Tuesday night, we just got back home from our family winter vacation. There were lots of driving during our vacation. He did most of the driving but I did my share by taking over from him to knock off for about the last 200 miles to home. Prior to that he had already done more than 2 times of the mileage which I drove. Needless to say that we both were so exhausted once we've got home.
Oh yeah, I fell into the sound sleep as soon as I'd touched my pillow. However, I was woken up by Michelle right in the middle of the night and right in the middle of my very sound sleep. Well, this is not something new and she does it almost every night. Her usual routines involve crying, making noises and asking one of us to go to their room to keep her company. And as I didn't want to disturb his sleep who would need to be back to work on the next morning, I just followed her and kept her company by sleeping next to her. To be accurate, I slept in the middle of Sophie and Michelle. Sophie usually sleeps on the left side and Michelle is on the right side. Their two single beds are put next to each other without a gap between them. Of course, there's a gap between two mattresses of two beds but we fill it up with two body pillows along the gap of two beds which seem to perfectly fit into it.
I always have to sleep in the middle of them and they will hold my hands from each side and will fall into asleep. I can't be closer to either one of them and else they will complain me with all different ways. Therefore, to be fair and square, I could only sleep right in the middle without leaning towards one or the other better. Right in the middle of the two beds is the filler gap body pillows and it's the spot where I stuck with whenever Michelle came and get me in the middle of the night.
I have a really bad back pain right after Sophie's pregnancy. The subsequent pregnancy for Michelle made it worsen and I guess that I need to live with it for the rest of my life. And sleeping on the bad mattress, hard floor or a bad spot like the aforementioned gap filler body pillows usually trigger my back pain really bad. Well, that's my life as a mom and I have no complaint!
When Michelle came and got me to sleep next to her, I of course stuck again with that middle body-pillowed spot. In order to be able to touch and sleep with me so closely and snugly, both of them came next to me and left only a small room which was enough just to lay my back. I could not even toss and turn. Can you imagine how squished I was? But it's okay. I usually leave it once they fell into the sound sleep and get back to our room. But during that night, Michelle also seemed to have a troubled sleeping. I thought that she seemed to have a sound sleep and tried to remove her hands from me gently. Not even before trying to get myself up from there, she would wake up and start to cry and grab my hands and ask me not to leave. Just like that, the whole night had been passed and I had lost my sleep. I think I might have semi-consciously fallen into alseep but not a complete sound sleep though.
Prior night's such torture made me not to be able to open my eyes during the next morning. I knew that he and the girls got up around 8:00am but I had a very strong urge to keep sleeping and I could not open up my eyes. And I had already decided to be on a sick leave due to all those exhaustiveness over last night and during our vacation. He of course knew what I had been through the night. So, he took the girls outside and they were having a breakfast. He later came and told me that he was leaving to work.
I of course know that it's an automatic signal for me to get up now since only the girls by themselves would be left there. Then, I told them while I was still lying on my bed that I would sleep a little bit more as I was too tired and exhausted and I would come out shortly. As they responded me "OK", I kept lying on the bed a little bit more. Not long after, Michelle rushed into the room, stood next to me and was telling me that she also wanted to see and help what Sophie was doing. I ignored her at the beginning but she kept bugging me and even pulled my hands to go to Sophie. I asked her what Sophie was doing and all she told me was that she also wanted to touch water and help Sophie.
Being somewhat annoyed by her, I followed her and went out to see what Sophie was doing. As I didn't see Sophie in the living room, I went to the dining table. She wasn't at the dining table either but she was in the kitchen and guess what? She was washing the dishes by standing on the little plastic Ikea chair as she wasn't tall enough to reach to the sink.
Being annoyed by Michelle and for being disturbed for my rest, I raised my voice and asked Sophie what she was doing and asked her to stop making the messes. I have to admit that I was upset and was a little bit mad by then when I asked her. Her little puzzled face turned around and looked at me. Just then, she softly spoke and here's what she responded: "Mommy, I know that you're very tired and I'm just trying to help you. I'm washing the dishes for you so that you can rest". Then, she turned back and kept washing the dishes.
Oooooooohhhh...Myyyyyyyy...Goddddddddd!!!!!!!!!!!
It has totally made my eyes widen. I felt like I was well awake by then. I was so speechless right away by a five year old's gesture. Then, I started to feel guilty for raising my voice and being a little bit mad at her and Michelle for waking me up. My heart was completely melted and I was so touched at the same time.
Oh my! What's a big little helper!! I was so overwhelmed and I could not believe what I was seeing and what was happening right before me. What's a sensible and understanding 5 years old! I felt so ecastatic and elated simultaneously. Yet I still didn't know what to say. All I did was that I rushed to her and gave her a big hug.
She hugged me back and told me again to go back and rest and she would finish the dishes. Then, I told her that how much I appreciated her for her gesture and to stop doing it and go play instead but she insisted. So, I stepped back for a while and watched her and it seemed like she was doing really professional. She got a scrub and put the dish detergent and looked so real even though it was her first time doing it.
Oh God! It was one of the sweetest moments of my life or being a motherhood! Any of the hardship I've been through because of them or every single sacrifice I've done for them is so worth it. No doubt that I'm a proud mama. Love you, girls! It was way too sweet of her!!
No comments:
Post a Comment