The Long Hug

It seems that when the kids start to get past the little baby stage that any embrace gets shorter and shorter. There was a time when all my precious children slept soundly and preferably in my arms. I could hold them all day long if I so desired. Now the cuddles come in the morning and while reading books. The days of the prolonged hold is starting to wan…unless they are sick.

When they kids are sick their regression comes quickly, and I latch onto it knowing that this moment of stillness is something I might not get for a while. Yesterday, my 17 month old, still trying to kick his cold, fell back asleep in my arms after waking from his nap. I was talking to my husband and rocking my little boy when my husband whispered, “He’s asleep.”

I froze. It was too good and I was afraid of spoiling the moment. This hadn’t happened since I stopped breastfeeding 2 months ago. I settled back in my chair gazed at his little face. He was a bigger version of his baby self but just as vulnerable looking. He slept there for a long while, enough for dusk to settle over the house and for me to wonder if he’d be there all night. While I felt terrible that he was sick I was also grateful for the long hug.

Sheila Cason, MD