At 3 AM...

?As a child when bedtime rolled around, I would get this sinking feeling in the pits of my little stomach. While everyone else was looking forward to a good night rest, I was counting down to the morning when the sun would once again come out. That’s right, you guessed it – I was afraid of the dark.

Yes, when those good nights started to get exchanged and that last light switch was turned to off, I became a wreck. Eventually I’d drift off to sleep … only to wake up in the dark again.

My sister slept in the bed next to mine, but I didn’t wake her. My brothers were just down the hall, but I didn’t run to their room. No, I used to sit straight up in the bed and call for my mother. Each time, she’d come trotting down the hall.

When she arrived, she’d kneel down next to my bed to counsel me. Do we have to go to school tomorrow? Am I wearing an undershirt in the morning? Can I wear my new shoes? These are the types of questions I’d ask – at 3 AM…

This was our norm most nights, me calling, her coming. Me calling asking her questions, masking my fear of the dark … her coming, answering and being the light, I needed.

I’d ask that battery of questions and she’d patiently rattle off responses before cupping my face and saying, “little boy – you don’t want nothing” … She was right because at that moment -- in her, I had everything I needed.

***

Spend a little time with your mother one day soon friend. Don’t wait for a holiday, an anniversary, a rite of passage or something. Make it about nothing.

Listen to talk … without looking to respond…

Hear her heart … because when she talks, it’s because she’s heard yours…

Make eye contact … you’ll see just how much she cares…

Spend some time with your mother. It might start off as nothing, but by the time it ends, you’ll realize…

She was everything you needed.