To My Grownup Child,
As I sat in the cafe with you by my side I could not help but be disheartened by the conversation happening to our left. A mother sat with her son who seemed to have just moved out of home to attend Uni. As they sat together I couldn't help but notice his crumpled, soiled clothes and the worried look on his mothers face. Over their meal he told her about his lectures and classes, his house mates and previous weeks away from home. I listened as she probed him about what he was eating, did he have enough money, was he getting enough sleep. He was quick to dismiss her questions and hurry the lunch along as if he had somewhere better to be. I listened to her attempts to get him to come home for a night or two. Promises of new clothes, of money, of take away food, all of which fell on deaf ears. As we got up to leave he was declining her last attempt to spend time with him, the offer of a lift to the train station. I held you close, as close to my heart as I could and prayed for life to slow down, the thought that one day you may not want to spend time with me crushing my heart.
My dear child, there will come a time in our life when the request of lunch or afternoon tea with your old Mum may seem tedious and boring. I am sure you will have more exciting things to do and more interesting people to see but humour me a while, after all a free lunch cant be that bad. I will never be too busy for you, never dismiss your need to talk, I will forever be by your side (whether near or far) and I will always be interested in what is going on in your life. Because dear child, you are my life.
Love Always, Your Mumma
