Mama-whisperings...

 
This morning after dropping off the Girl, as I was walking back to my car I noticed a mama with her arm around her young son speaking to him in hushed tones.  Not the "you're in trouble" terse hushed tones, but the softly spoken "I'm gonna whisper you off this little ledge this morning, ok?" hushed tones.  I don't know what his trouble was this morning, but you could tell from his body language that it weighed heavily upon his little shoulders.  I watched her get down on his level and put her hand on his shoulder.  She took the moment to really look at him even though they were running a little late. She spoke to him with kindness but also with that "we can figure this out...trust me" mama-tone in her voice.  I was walking by quickly and never made out one word of their exchange, but watching the dance between a mama and her child sometimes doesn't even need words for translation.  She lifted him up with her encouragement and kindness...but most of all it seemed as if just giving him that moment and blocking out the hustle and bustle of the morning helped to ground him.  Before I had turned the corner around the classrooms I had grabbed two handfuls of paper towels and was glowering because somehow the Girl's entire bottle of juice managed to spill on the floorboard of the car during our commute.  As I walked past this exchange between this mama and son...I realized how poorly I had handled my own walk to class with the Girl.  Hurry. Hurry. Hurry.  Quick kiss.  See you later.  She was a bit distraught about her juice bottle, I was a bit bummed about my car.  We said quick goodbyes and left each other to sort the troubles out.  Seeing the mama with her arm around her son, and hearing her calming reassurances my eyes welled up with tears.  Instantly.  Not because of how our own morning had gone but because...if I were to call my Mama right now and tell her of the weight on my shoulders or the untethered worries that rattle around and keep me up at night, she would be that same mama...with the stedfast love and reassurance that things always work out one way or another.  With the calm, "there's always a solution" tone that she has, she would gently pick up my broken confidence, dust it off and wrap it back around me.  I know this because she's done it a thousand times before and I've no doubt she'll have a thousand more opportunities.  I feel grateful that I was reminded this morning to be more present with my own kidlets when they are feeling stymied or unsure.  Sometimes I just forget how far an uninterrupted dialogue and a good hug can actually take you towards solving a problem with confidence and grace. My mama taught me that.