A Mommy Snuggle

After a bump to the head, (a) came running to find me yesterday morning.  He told me what had happened and said “I think I need a Mommy snuggle.”  For him this is a pretty uncommon request, because he makes no bones about the fact that Daddy is his favorite human, so I dropped what I was doing to oblige his Mommy snuggle.  It only lasted a few minutes before he decided he was better and ready to run around again, but it made my whole day.  When (A) got home he even told him about hitting his head playing and that “I needed a Mommy snuggle and that made it not hurt anymore.”

It was a cute phrase that I hadn’t heard him use before, but it also made me think of how many times in my life I have needed a “Mommy snuggle” to make things better.  As a child a hug and kiss always managed to heal a skinned knee or a bumped elbow.  As a teenager a hug from Mom while I cried helped heal a broken heart whether it was over a missed goal, unmet achievement, or a stupid boy.  And many times in my adult life a phone call would have to do, when what I really just needed was a “Mommy snuggle” to navigate the emotional waters of life.  I’m thankful that she always answers her phone, no matter what time it is, and she always has time to listen when I’m frustrated or sad or excited or need advice. 

And now that she is “Mama K” her snuggles are needed even more, as two little boys compete for room on her lap.  Throughout quarantine, (a) has Facetimed her more times than I can count just to tell her what he has been up to or ask when “the sickness” is going to be over. 

Because I now know what it is like to need a “Mommy snuggle” even as an adult, I think of how hard it must have been for my mom to spend the largest part of her adult life ½ way across the country from her own mom.  I think of how may times as she was raising us that she probably needed a “Mommy snuggle” or a few minutes of advice from someone who had been in her mommy shoes. 

A few months ago, my mom’s parents moved from their home in Louisiana to the family farm in Indiana.  It thrills me to get to see them now spending holidays, birthday, and events together that they have been missing out on doing in person for 40+ years.  Spending this Mother’s Day as four generations together was the only gift I really wanted.  I look even more forward to our trips to the farm this summer and in the future as I think about my boys being able to get 3 generations of “Mommy snuggles” just by walking around the living room. 

Because after all, don’t we all just need a “Mommy snuggle”!?

“She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.” Proverbs 31:26