Happily Ever Acker…

I was often told to put that boy down because I was holding him too much.

I remember crying when he was little. I thought this child is just too good to be mine.

I always feared losing him.

His love for me was more than I deserved. He climbed in my lap when other boys had grown out of that.

When he took Spanish in school, he started joking and lovingly calling me Madre.

I remember thinking how much I would dread the day when he no longer loved on me.

He is 23 now and I am so thankful that day never came.

I guess our bond was brought on by the struggles of being a single mom and an only child for 8 years.

I always wanted more kids. He always wanted a dad.

We got blessed with both.

But my memory travels back to my wealthiest years.

All we had was each other.

No car. No phone. No tv.

It took everything we had to pay a house note and a light bill.

My prayer was that he would not make my mistakes and find a good woman for a wife.

He found her.

Two years ago today.

I sat on the couch the night they were married and let it sink in.

I told Jeff, “Well, my baby boy is married now.”

And then there was a knock at the door.

I wish I could describe how it truly felt to open the door.

“Momma we’re too tired, can we stay here tonight?”

I busied myself making them a bedroom fit for newlyweds.

I will always treasure that moment of loss followed by unimaginable gain.

It was the closest I ever came to a fairytale.

She looks at him the way I wanted her to. She says his name with laughter in her voice.

She has a heart of gold and a rare beauty.

And she loves babies. She works at a children’s hospital to take care of them.

She is so tender hearted that she almost quit early in her career. Sometimes the heartache was too much.

It pleases me so much to know that hopefully one day she will be the mother of my grandbabies.

And I hope I get to hold them too much.

Happy anniversary to my blessings,

I love you both,

Madre