A Mother’s Dilemma…

Recently, leaving for working in the morning is a daily tussle between my son. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m in my final trimester that he is getting more attached or it’s a phase that he’s just going through as part of the “terrific twos.” Whichever it is, today’s  episode has been the most heart wrenching so far. I believe in not disappearing from sight as I just simply feel that it’s not right to do so.  So every morning I’ll spend some time with him before telling him that mummy’s got to go to work now, can I get a Hug and Kiss and I’ll see you when I get back? It used to work with him saying “bye” and I can walk out of the door with no tears until lately. Today was no different, he plopped himself on my lap and said “nooooo… mummy come” and held onto my fingers tightly not willing to let me go to work. Then the fateful moment where the words I didn’t believe came out. I hugged him and said “Mummy has to go to work to earn money so that I can buy you toys and all the nice stuff ok?” His eyes turned red and teary as he replied: “Nooo… mummy….  no… don’t want. “ It was at this moment that I knew he needed more of my presence than any of the material gifts that money could buy. It was at this moment that my heart broke into a thousand pieces….

We often think about how we need to keep working to provide a better quality of life for our children (e.g. enrichment class, toys etc) but have you ever sat down to think about what they really need is not the stuff we can provide but rather the presence and comfort that we as parents provide to them.