Zoo lights

Yesterday was a very busy day around our home. Pretty much for everyone.
The almost eagle scout was actually the busiest.Piano class followed by lunch, shopping for Christmas clothes( funny aside,his underclothes cost more than the shirt he purchased), followed by volunteering to pick up Christmas wreaths and poinsettias for his troop, followed by picking his orders up and delivering them to his customers...the last one not completed because we had church to go to.
The child also had the most important event of the day- meeting up with his classmates at the Oregon zoo which is all gussied up with lights this time of the year and you pay a pretty penny to saunter around in the cold and see them. Saturday is about the worst day to go there. Everyone who wants to go there , is there.
So we drop him off at the entrance where a zillion people are in line to buy tickets to get in and it seems like they will almost get to the counter when the whole thing closes for the day..anyway, live and learn. Said boy scout had been furnished with forty dollars for tickets and nourishment and asked to call the parents if needed.
The zoo is one station away from the one close to our home and when we suggested he take the train and call us from the station,the answer was a resounding ,"No!!"
Granted, the station is,some 600 feet underground and you travel in a tunnel most of the time but it is only a five minute ride? Still,no. We didn't push it because he rides the train atleast three times a week and knows the degree of safety at any given point better than we do.
We finally get a call asking to be picked up at a certain time and we did. Finally we all settle down for the night and all is well until I am awakened by a clomping down the stairs. In my sleep addled state, I think,"Santa?!". No it is my firstborn who comes barging in going, "My stomach hurts,do you think it is something I ate?". After assenting to it and convincing him to go back to bed, I lie back for a few minutes and lo and behold , more clomping! Apparently,the pain had moved to another quadrant of the abdomen. I suggested an antacid and sent him back to bed. It was past midnight and I slowly drifted off to sleep. But  in my half asleep state, I was thinking of him and remembered the teenager who died after eating something and later chasing it down with antacid.
The first thing I did when I woke up was walk upstairs and check on him. He was asleep, but I woke him up and asked him if he was fine and his tummy ok. He said yes and went back to sleep. Good start to my Sunday!
Mundane, everyday things. My husband asked me, in the morning, if he was fine. No tension there. Not that he was not concerned, but the mother is always the nurturer and that never goes away, ever, I think. Fathers can rest easy knowing mothers will take care and nourish and indulge and nurture their offspring. And that your mother is there for anything and everything is taken for granted by all of us.
One of my classmates lost her mother this day twenty years ago and had written about it on our whatsapp conversations. It got me wondering,we women in our forties who are mothers ourselves still yearn for that maternal love and presence. She mentioned how she had not been able to share the birth of her child, her professional achievements and such with her mother and it struck me that of all the people in the world the proudest one when one does anything worthwhile, however trivial, will be your mother.
To lose your mother then, is the ultimate loss. But then think about the mother's feelings at leaving behind her children...not being there to share in their life and what it brings. The joys, the sorrows, achievements, losses, everything.
Whatever faith we belong to, one thing is sure- a mother is never gone. She always watches over her children. Reincarnation, heaven and hell, nirvana, it doesn't matter. A mother's love transcends everything. She reaches out to her children from whichever realm she is in. Her love encompasses her children. It engulfs them, it sustains them and propels them to be more than they think they are capable of.
So June,while I cannot ever tell you I understand what you are going through, with all the maternal feelings I know all of us mothers have, I can assure you, your mother is always with you. You may not see her, but you will feel her presence - in your dad's smile when he opens the door to see you walk in. In your brother's pride when he sees his daughters. Guess who they probably remind him of? Your mom and you...the first women in his life. In every friend who displays art work made by their kids, who posts pictures of their babies,who complains about their lazy teenager( ahem, you know who does it very often!). In every decision you make regarding Rohit,he will be an exemplary kid because you are his Mom and most importantly, you are your mother's daughter....the apple does not fall far from the tree.