Naleighna Kai's Literary Cafe Magazine May - Mother's Day Issue | Page 48

through hell. He had purple lips and
slanted eyes, which made me swear
up and down they were passing off the
wrong child. Maybe they needed to place
him back in the oven and put him on broil
for a few minutes. Thankfully, he soon
fleshed out and became a little bundle of
joy. And that’s truth.
Motherhood
was
especially
rewarding. Here was someone who
depended on me for everything. A
little person who seemed to live for
my smiles, my hugs, my voice. A
person who needed my protection.
A person who I would keep safe at
all costs. A person who would inspire
me to take risks that I would not have
dared on my own. That smile, that
voice, that face—that sweetness in
his soul that was so unlike me and his
father.
My son had such a wonderful
disposition, so much so, that people
wanted to give him everything,
because he asked for nothing. He
was never materialistic and that
made people do more for him than he
realized. For his birthday, he wanted
friends and family over—it was never
about presents. And he is still that
way to this day. He graduates from
Columbia on Mother’s Day (a few
days after this magazine releases),
and instead of some fancy spot like
the Grand Lux Café, this dude wants
to hit The Smoke Daddy for his
graduation dinner. Seriously?
He did not like to disappoint people.
All I had to do was raise my voice and
he was immediately contrite for what
he’d done wrong. Giving birth to,
and raising, a son had more rewards
than challenges. And the challenges
weren’t really about him—it was
more about the fact that he’d been
perfect up until puberty and I didn’t