first of all my nephew turned nine. I was at work most of the morning, spending my shift alone with my thoughts. a bunch of tiny little memories of this little boy i met 9 years ago, who now has a personality all his own. an entire perspective on life. out of these young mischievous eyes.
i hope the world is ready for a boy like this.
secondly, when i got closer to my shift change, i took my time refilling all the things i should have earlier in the day but forgot with all my thoughts. as i approached my final chore my mom calls me and tells me that my dad needed to go to the hospital, and they were on their way.
immediately, another rush of tiny memories engulfed my mind, pushing out the delicate fingers and tiny toes of a newborn baby, and exchanging them for rougher, sharper memories.
hospital stays
tired eyes
stress and worry
I felt like i flew to the hospital, and when i finally arrived no one i knew was there. not one set of recognizable eyes. I filled out the paperwork and waited, waited and waited, blanks were filled in with messy scrawls, dates filled in; some sevens crossed and others ignored. when i finally saw my parents and sisters arrive, i was so relieved i ran outside waving the paperwork clipboard like a white flag.
after a few mins my parents were swooped into another room, and my sisters and i were left alone. we looked around quietly at the people around us, with undoubtedly same thought running though our minds-
"what is wrong with that one..... and that one, and THAT one?!?!?!?!?"
we saw babies with adult size cuts and injuries
old folks looking tired and worn from life
teenagers with fearful eyes anticipating unplanned babies
we saw it all.
After 6 and a half hours we were discharged . my dad feeling in better spirits and my mom looking relieved.
even in messy scrawls,
crossed or uncrossed
i realized, how lucky i am to have these 7 people in my life.
parents
sisters
niece
nephew
