From Woman to Mother: A Tender Mother's Day Reflection on New Beginnings

Blurred faces, sweat and the echo of the word push seemed to stifle her as she started to sink into a dazed slumber. The pain, as it came in waves was almost at the peak of its high tide while the pressure seemed to have no ending. "How long has it been?", she wondered. There was an old clock crookedly hung against the aged concrete wall, the hands seemed just as fatigued as her as she looked up to check the time. It was just about seventeen minutes past two. No wonder she was so drained, it had been seven hours already.

"I'll just close my eyes for a minute", she thought.

"Slap', she reassuringly felt on her leg.

"Come on Sally, we almost there", the nurse said with authority.

The gentle slap startled her and she reluctantly snapped back to reality. Looking down she noticed the other nurse leaning forward with strong, cold hands probing between her legs. The gown she came into the room wearing was carelessly thrown across a chair in the corner. Sally was the type of person who would be embarrassed to be exposed in such a way in any other situation, but not this one, not this one at all, when you're having a baby all your pride and shame breaks along with your water bag.

It was hard to believe that this was the highly anticipated moment she was eagerly awaiting, she often wondered what it would be like but finally having the experience felt so surreal as nothing could have prepared her for the exhausting labour. As she lay there somewhat lost in her thoughts, the unmistakable force announced itself once again, she could hear the urgency in the nurses' voices as they told her to breathe. A burning sensation seemed to seize hold of her body from the waist down while the racing of her heart played a drum mimicking the melody of the throbbing agony.

"Push Sally, push!", a nurse shouted as she was trying to shift herself upwards.

Her body complied as if to say at last and with all her strength, unyielding she pushed. She heard a resounding scream echoing throughout the delivery room, the type of scream that would give you chills, the type of scream that would make you want to guard your own life if you heard it. The next few minutes were a nauseating fog, she could hardly comprehend what was happening but the minute she felt like she was about to pass out, the promised release came. As the nurse lifted her hands Sally's distress was no more. The child was longer than she thought, hands outstretched, a head full of hair graced with blood and a wrinkled face with lips that sorrowfully curled before breaking into a cry...it was the most beautiful sight she had seen in her life. She noticed the distinctive thing hanging between the baby's legs. With a single tear trickling down the left side of her face, she opened her mouth barely finding the voice she just lost to say, "It's a boy", but before she could, the nurse triumphantly announced, "Yuh do well Sally, you have a son."

To all you Sally's, today WE SALUTE YOU! And to every woman who carried babies who are now forever asleep, WE STAND WITH YOU. Today is your day together with all the grandmothers, great grandmothers, stepmothers, godmothers, aunties, big sisters or anyone stepping up to play the indispensable role of a mother. HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO YOU!

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