Last Updated on May 15, 2018
Once a mom, always a mom. What do you think?
In my experience, there are many wonderful women who don’t hang up their aprons, even when they are off-duty. I met one the other day.
I decided to stay during my daughter’s dance class and spend some time writing. Instead, I ended up talking to another mom. We swapped mom stories for a while. We laughed. We cried. We mom-bonded. She even shared a time when her child went into respiratory distress.
Right about then, the heated air got to me. I’d had this cough for several weeks and it always got worse in dry, heated rooms. So, of course, just after this sweet mom finishes telling me about her heart-stopping ride to a hospital with her child, I start coughing. And no, it wasn’t one of those cute dainty coughs. Sadly, my lungs picked that moment to have a full-on concert of spasms.
The poor mom’s eyes opened wide, and her skin paled (so did mine, apparently). She went into full respiratory distress mode. She sprinted to her car — that woman can run even in cute shoes — and she brought back one of her son’s rescue inhalers. By that time, I was outside gasping for breath … and leaned over the grass, heaving for breath in the most un-ladylike manner you can imagine, all the while trying to convince her I was fine.
And it got worse! I stopped coughing for a moment, then my lungs went for round two — and it was a thriller. I began to think I was going to die, which was about the time she called 911. Oh, the fun never stops around me. …
Fortunately, I stopped coughing while she was trying to figure out the address of the place and avoided making the night even more exciting. But you know what the great thing was? The fact that she was a mom who was just rising to the call of duty. She didn’t think I was crazy, at least she promised she didn’t when my hubby showed up to get his dying wife; she called him, too.
So, Moms, wear your mom-ness with pride and keep up the good work. Because of that mom’s advice to get a rescue inhaler, I have avoided a dozen more embarrassing experiences in public. Yay for moms!
Jennifer Dyer has an M.S. in Communications Disorders, which served her well in her professional career as a speech-language pathologist. Never did she imagine that her education and career were God’s way of preparing her to be a mom to her own daughter with autism. Today, she enjoys reaching out to other families who face similar diagnoses. As a cancer survivor, carpet-cleaning veteran, and originator of the “Messy House Ministry,” Jennifer feels blessed to share joy, peace, and humor with others facing life’s challenges. She is mom to two beautiful daughters and is thankful to be raising them, serving other families with unique needs, and using her gift of writing and speaking to minister to others. Jennifer is also the author of a youth fiction book series and is trusting God with His timing on publication. Jennifer has been a mom for 11 years. She and Brandon have been married for 13 years.