Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: Fulfillment (04/06/06)
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TITLE: To Love and To Be Loved | Previous Challenge Entry
By Lynette Carpenter
04/06/06 -
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It was two in the morning, and I had yet to get some sleep. My husband, Tim & I had taken our three kids to a hotel for a mini-vacation, and baby Corey refused to settle down for the night. We had tried everything to get the child to go to sleep, but as soon as our own heads hit the pillows, Corey’s eyes would pop open again.
Trying to be a good mommy, I took him for a little walk in the hallway. He laid his head on my shoulder, and finally drifted off to sleep. Gently laying him in his crib, I glanced at the time.
“Two-thirty!” I groaned, how would I ever survive all my mommy chores tomorrow?
Yawning, I crawled into bed. Five minutes later Corey was crying again! Throwing the covers back in frustration, I pulled myself back out of bed. Picking Corey up, I took him into the bathroom.
“Maybe a warm bath will help him relax and go to sleep,” I thought. After a quick bath and a warm bottle, it was back to bed. But he was soon crying again.
After bundling him up, Tim took Corey out for a drive. By the time he returned, it was nearing 5:00. Tim placed the sleeping child in his crib once more and came back to bed.
We lay there with our eyes open, too worn out to sleep. Suddenly, I had to sneeze.
“Nooooo,” I thought. But it was inevitable, and the slightest “achoo”, woke Corey once more.
“What is wrong with him?” I asked Tim, anger tinting my voice.
“I don’t know.” he replied, “Let’s just pack up and go home?”
So once more, we crawled out of bed. Throwing our things together, we carried the children out to the van and headed home.
In the warmth of the van, I yawned, then laying my head back I soon dozed off. Tyler and Amy had slept through everything, but Corey just sat there looking around without a care in the world. And of course, as soon as I was sleeping, he began to fuss.
“Forget it!” I muttered “I’ll just stay awake!”
Corey was sleeping when we pulled into the garage, so I quietly carried him into his bedroom and placed him in his crib. We laid Tyler and Amy down as well, and then exhausted, we fell into bed.
Not surprisingly, ten minutes later, that familiar cry woke us once more. Groaning, I climbed the stairs to his crib. Wrapping a blanket around my nocturnal child, I carried him out to the van.
“You are going to grandpa and grandma’s house, young man!” I informed him as I opened the garage door. Driving the mile and a half to my parent’s home, I noticed the sun peeking over the horizon.
“It’s sad,” I grumbled, “that I didn’t get any sleep since I watched the sun going down.”
I stumbled up the sidewalk and waited for my parents to answer the door. Looking well-rested and sipping their morning coffee, they welcomed Corey and me into the kitchen.
Handing Corey over to my mother, I exclaimed, “Now I know why some animals eat their young!” Mom and dad laughed, somewhat sympathetically, as I recounted the night’s events.
“Go home and get some sleep,” mom said, “he will be just fine here.”
“Thank you!” I said with relief in my voice, “Bye, Bye, Corey!”
Hearing his name, Corey looked up at me, and the biggest smile crossed his face. My mother heart melted with love for him.
“Oh, I love you so much”, I said, as I reached to give him a hug and kiss. Then handing him back to grandma once more, I headed home.
After all the frustration Corey had caused me, all it took was that beautiful smile to remind me how much I loved him. All was forgiven.
“There’s nothing I would rather be than a mommy.” I decided on the short drive home. “How fulfilling it is to love and to be loved!”
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