**This is my mom, Patricia, and me, circa 1984 (not 2009)**
| Back in February of this year I decided to create a “Family Call” using zoom so that my parents, my daughters, and my brother and his small family could meet up once per week and see each other’s faces and hear each other’s voices. The older daughters are all out of state I might add. What prompted this you might ask – I was scrolling around in between various activities and heard a passing video where a woman was talking about the last time she’d heard her mother’s voice. And that brief, maybe 30 seconds if that, felt like a punch to the gut. When had I last heard MY mom’s voice? We’d gotten so used to texting and group chats and Instagram shares that not only had I not heard her voice but I had not seen her face on a regular basis. The kind of regularity that slowly fades as you get older, leave home, and build a family of your own. It really hit me hard and I began to imagine my own daughters leaving home and my voice slowly fading from their minds! I admit I can be a little melodramatic but in reality I think we can all agree the age of ‘chat’ and ‘reels’ has really taken a toll on real human connection. That disconnect can be felt in so many areas of our lives, from family and friends, to telehealth appointments, driving school, even bible studies and book groups. Heck even the self-checkout line is a solitary interaction. So it’s no wonder that our younger clients coming in have such a hard time looking our nurses in the eye, verbally expressing their concerns and questions, and even looking past their immediate fears and obstacles, sometimes imagined, sometimes not, and seeing a future with the child they are carrying. That future is too far into the distance to comprehend and certainly not in 30 second to 1 minute blocks of stimulation. The bond between mother and child, in utero, is stronger than anything on record. Even in the animal kingdom the link between mother and child in the womb is astonishing in its depth. Penguin parents recognize their chick’s unique call among thousands of others, dolphin calves recognize their mother’s signature whistle during gestation, Mother elephants communicate with calves in the womb through low-frequency vibrations and sounds. And last, whale calves hear their mother’s calls and rhythms before birth, helping them recognize and stay close to her after delivery. But trying to convince a young woman that her child can hear the sound of her voice while still in her womb? A child she cannot see or feel especially during early pregnancy, which is much of what we see? Life is so very precious, from its earliest moments to the very last breath. Our family had to slow down and really see and hear each other again. And not take for granted the sounds of each other’s voices, more, not take this life He has given us for granted. I’m so thankful my family, spread out as we are, have our weekly zoom call. Even just for a little while, eating dinner, in between work and sports, and bed times, just to check in. And I can hear my mother’s voice, more familiar to me than almost anything and anyone else, as far back as I can remember, and even before then, in her womb. Happy Mother’s Day to our heavenly Mother, Mary, and to my mom, Patricia! And wishing all of you and all of the beautiful mothers and mothers to be we see every day at Next Step a beautiful Mother’s Day, P.S. Save the Date! The Next Step Gala is on Saturday September 19th, at Holy Rosary in Edmonds!Visit https://nssupport.org/event-details/ for more information. Invites and registration coming in July. If you are a business or organization and would like to be a sponsor for our event or if you have an item, service, or experience you’d like to offer for our Silent Auction or our world famous Dessert Auction drop me an email! heather@nextstepnw.com |
