For 16 long months I have endured a lack of reciprocal affection from LQ. Oh, there were the months where she was so tiny and didn't have the neck muscles to pull back from a snuggle, but that's not really affection. That's like getting love from a lump of - well, a lump of anything really... just a lump. But from the moment she had the muscles to push away from me, she has. It's been hard on this little mum. I thrive on cuddles (especially from my mum), so to have a daughter that was disinterested in just some quiet time with mummy, was disconcerting.
Just in this past week, in fact while we were in the true outback of Australia, LQ has started to snuggle up to me. At first I thought it was a freak accident, but she kept coming back to me when she was tired, or hurt, or just needed some love. Even when we are laying down for a nap or night time sleep, she now prefers to fall asleep curled up against me. Before the mood change, LQ chose to teeter on the other side of the bed before touching me as she went to sleep.
In my opinion, there's nothing more magical than a mummy cuddle. It acts as a perfect drug for so many different hurts, it can calm a raging beast (or an angry child), it is the best sleeping pill and best of all a mum is always willing to give them. As you get older, they turn into more of a "mum hug", but the healing power is still the same. Boyfriends, girlfriends, the tiresome trials of a teenager can all be quelled with a nice long "mum hug".
Mum, thanks for all your hugs and cuddles, no feeling can compare with the one I get when I think of all the love that goes into your hugs. They make me feel better.
After being woken up by a poke in the nose this morning, LQ and I got up out of bed. She was cuddling me and as we walked out of the bedroom she reached her [still] chubby arm around my shoulder and patted me on the back. It's as if she were saying, "Thanks for the ride mum. You know you really will regret it when I do start walking."
2 comments:
thankyou helen for the lovely comments. You definitely are a cuddler. From a tiny baby, a cuddle in the rocking chair was a magic time.
aww. So sweet! It really must be frustrating that she hasn't been a cuddler up to this point. the cuddles are what makes all the work seem worth it! I'm glad she's finally come to her senses.
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