'Just because we become a mom doesn’t mean we lose our place as a child.'
I was pulled over at an Oklahoma gas station, taking my kids to see the Grand Canyon, when I got the call from my sister: My dad had a stroke.
A sole text came through, “It’s not good, Alice. I’m leaving now to drive there.” And then I sat trapped in the car. I just stared out the window for the next four hours. I thought about how we’ve been so vigilant about being isolated during the pandemic and how now I feel like I missed so much time with my dad.
A funny thing happened as I slid open the glass doors to his ICU room. I shed my insecurities and fear as his child and instead went into mom mode. Moms know this mode. It’s that dial we turn when our families need us and we get this superhuman strength to be who our loved ones need us to be. It’s not an easy transition, it’s terribly difficult actually, but somehow we find it and grab it and be what our families need.
My time in the hospital was spent alongside my dad as he went through therapy to learn to walk, eat, and talk again. And he did. It was okay to take solace in my skills as a mom: straightening his blanket, spoon-feeding him until he could hold the utensil on his own, lotioning his hands, telling him it was time for a nap, and being patient as he slowly eked out his words again.
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