TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOUR DISADVANTAGE

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOUR DISADVANTAGE

I’m agonizing for 12 days now, I have a bad case of stiff neck and lower back pain. I dread the coming of night time, I feel like I’m turning into a vampire! Seriously speaking, I do not like to sleep although sleeping before this 12 days came was my favorite time of the day. Why? If I lie down, I won’t be able to stand up without crawling nor without my husband’s help…without my kids’ cheering and encouragement. Yes, the kids are aware of my situation. They hear my never ending groan of pain! Ouch here and ouch there. On my ninth day in this excruciating situation, I overheard my son Rafael saying, “why does she keeps on saying ouch?”. My son was wondering because whenever my kids have fever, bruises, teething or whatever ouchy situation I’d tell them, “do not mind your ouchy, it will go away. If you mind it, it will mind you and it won’t go away. Your ouchy will say, I like to stay here, he/she likes me...yada yada yada.”. For the first few days whenever I blurt ‘Ahh’, my kids will say, “do not mind your ouchy, it will go away. If you mind it, it will mind you and it won’t go away.”. Yes my kids (even my 2 year old son Juan) say these words to me, the way I say it to them.

Rafael’s question awakened my senses. He was wondering why I do not practice what I preach to them. So on the day I overheard Rafael’s wondering question, I bought eight books. You see, I haven’t been reading novels since I gave birth to my twin kids (2002). I read parenting magazines, do crossword puzzles, anything easy to finish.

And on my ninth night in this unbearable situation, I finished 2 novels. My husband and kids have slept better, there wasn’t any mommy groaning. In the morning, the pain is still there but I feel better knowing that when the night fall, I will not dread it instead I welcome it because I have something to look forward to.