A Mama's Song

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   He calls me for the 369th time today - "Mommy!  Mommy!"
I cringe
   I just sat down, and had barely sighed.
Maybe if I just pretend I don't hear it this time...
   But it doesn't work.   He persists.
I drag my heavy legs over to the room and find a new mess.
   A new crisis, a new chore.

They told me to treasure these days,
  And I laughed inside my head.
They said they would fly by,
  And I secretly rolled my eyes.
For they don't see the long and tiring days.
  They must not remember
that they go by so slow, and feel so long.

  He runs the other way when I call.
My throat hurts from the reminding, the admonishing,
  The warnings.
Maybe if I just don't say anything this time....
  But I can't not speak up
For it is his safety and his very life
  that I have been entrusted with.

They told me to hold him tight
  For one day he would run
But he's running now, and for just a minute
  I want a little break
They said he would run right out the door
  and not look back, one day
But it's hard to see that far ahead
  and so for now I let him go.

He wants me to sleep with him, again.
  He begs and cries, and I cannot resist.
So I snuggle in close and he wraps his arms around me
  And all I can think about it everything I have to do
"When can I get up?"  I wonder
  And I hear his breathing grow heavier
His eyelids finally close
  I'm left holding this little life
And I realize

The time is slipping away
  and this is all I have
He will one day run
  But for now he's this close
I can hear his breath, I can feel his heart
  And my tiredness doesn't fade
But my love grows more and more

They told me to treasure the days
  They said they would fly by
They told me to hold him tight
  They said one day he'd run out the door.

But for now he is this close
  And I will hold him closer still
I will remember to cherish this night
  Because the days are flying by.