Through the Eyes of a Child

 

This is both the most beautiful, yet, at the same time, heart-wrenching thing to me. It is quite surreal to see myself sick through the eyes of my oldest child. My son, Miles, brought this picture home to me yesterday. They had a Mother's Day contest at his school, and he was really hoping to win it for me, but he was sad to report that he didn't win (as though that could make me love it any less!).

Miles is 7 years old and he does not ever talk about my Lyme disease, though I know it must be incredibly hard for him. He is the most mature little boy for his age and he always has been. He never participated in imagination-type-play, because, as he stunningly put it to me at around 3 1/2 or 4 years old, "Mommy, why would I pretend that? It's not real and it won't actually happen!" This same child raised over $1,500 for Haiti last year after the earthquake, of his own accord, by selling his artwork! Of course I am biased, but he is a very special little boy!

Though he's very intellectual, expressing his feelings is a huge struggle for him. What strikes me most about his Mother's Day picture is that I'm smiling at him with a heart over top of me, and he is frowning at me, although he has a heart in front of him, too.  He is extremely stoic for a boy of his age, so in a way, it is a relief to see that he found a way through his art to express his sadness over my illness. 

Despite the melancholy tone of the picture, it's indescribably beautiful to me and I proudly hung it up on my wall. It is the most wonderful Mother's Day present I could have ever received from him! Next Mother's Day, I hope to receive a picture just like it, but with my son smiling and his mama no longer in bed!