Oct 16 2007
In the Still of the Night
Shrouded in darkness, I go about my business. I speak in hushed tones and whispers as I perform the sacred rituals. I belong to the most powerful secret society in the universe:
Motherhood.
As I snuggle this tiny person against my chest and sway back and forth in our special chair, I think about this vast sisterhood that I belong to. All across this darkened portion of the planet, thousands and thousands of mothers are doing exactly what I’m doing: wiping tears, calming fears, tending to the sick and the helpless. There are no cameras, no award ceremonies, no worldly glory for our labors. We are never thanked and rarely acknowledged. We work a 24-hour shift every day.
In the glaring light of day, I look frazzled. I’m overworked and overweight. There are lunches to be packed, laundry to be washed, groceries to be bought. It’s a whirlwind of activity, noise, and chaos. The world may forget us. They may even snicker at us. They will laugh at the black circles under our eyes–the circles we earned through love. They will wonder how we can stand to be “just a mom.” We may even allow them make us feel inconsequential.
But in those sacred hours of the night, while “important” people are sleeping, my little baby and I share powerful moments full of love, peace, and serenity—things that society doesn’t give him but that perhaps one day he’ll give to society. As I rock him, I tell him who he is, I tell him who he can become, I tell him who loves him.
These are the moments that will change the world.
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Brillant.
Beautiful.
Absolutely moving.
Amen to that Butrfly . . . thanks for sharing this Brillig.
Beautiful. Simply beautiful.
i’m mostly a lurker. this was beautiful. thank you.
Moms know. Beautiful. Thank you.
Wow, that was incredibly beautiful! Loved it.
Amen, Brillig. Amen.
Those are such magical times aren’t they?
In that twilight world, when you can feel their heart fluttering against yours, and you are completely at peace.
Ohhh I miss that sometimes.
Big sighhhh.
Now come over and play. You have awards.
I can honestly say I think of all the blog posts I’ve ever read, this one is THE best!
I am sitting here bawling my eyes out! After a long day which saw me take my baby for yet another sedated hearing test I have been reflecting on the very things you touched on in this post.
Beautiful, thank you.
You have me bawling. I love those magic moments in the middle of the night. Even when I complain about all the rest of it: the mess, the noise, the chaos, the exhaustion. I love the magic moments. Completely.
Haha, this is the first time I’m feeling a bit left out! I realize that A) it’s not like you MEANT to leave me out and B) Someday I will relate and C) even though I have no basis on which to relate I still LOVE this post.
So um, not sure what the point of my comment was but I bow down to Mom’s and all the hard work they do. I’d be nobody without my Mama.
I cried. How beautifully you captured that.
Amen to that.
Very lovely–and so articulate on so little sleep. Brava!
Sigh. This is why you’re so fabulous. I love it. So true. I needed that reminder today.
Apologies for my horrid grammar above. Mom’s?? With an apostrophe?
I suck.
I just read this again. It’s so beautiful. I love you Brilly
Lovely.
My baby is six…I miss those days.
You are awesome. I look forward to having those baby rocking times again.
Coming over from Kimberly’s blog …
Loved this post. It’s so beautiful, so true. Thank-you.
“things that society doesn’t give him but that perhaps one day he’ll give to society”
WOW! that was profound!
*fans back a few tears* Awh. I love it. I love it, I love it, I love it!
Motherhood is nobility. Thanks for capturing the essence of what us “ordinary” people do day in and day out. Truly we are all extraordinary.
Sniff. Now I’m missing those hours with my little ones that are gone. So well written, Brill.
Thanks Brillig. I needed that today.
So well said….and absolutely perfect.
I feel you…I feel you….and not in a creepy sort of way either. 
That was so very moving. You have worded the life of a mother perfectly.
What a great time to check out your blog. This was an amazing post and I’m so glad that Kimberly pointed me your way. I write this through the tears filling my eyes. So true the words you have written…so true.
I wish I could chunk all the comments into a big block down here and follow it with a very resounding QFT.
So beautifully articulated. Superb, actually. Thank you.
I’m with Kate. My relationship with my mom has never been fantastic, but I would be NOBODY without her.
I don’t know what to say that wouldn’t ruin the sweet beauty of the moment except to say, thank you.
Thoughtful, eloquent, and full of love for your kids.
Beautifully stated! I had one of those moments last night with my little guy. What a lovely thought that something so special is happening all over the globe!
Bravo. Absolutely perfect.
I appreciate you darlin’! Years to come, it will be those precious quiet moments that you remember the most, ones that your children will have no real conscious memory of. But it is the bonds that you build during those peaceful times that will hold you together during the teenage traumas! (I am currently just praying that they are as strong as I could make them at the time!)
Yeah, I have to echo what everyone else said–this was what I needed to hear today! Good for you!
Can you imagine a life without children? How different we would be.
Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.
Love this post. If you could see the dark circles under my eyes, you’d know just how much.
Beautiful. Quite beautiful.
Transported me back, oh, ten years, at least - yet it seems like yesterday.
It is those memories and experiences - whether in the forefront or the back of my mind - which make me smile as i watch my daughter walk towards me, and which influence me in everything I do with her.
Wouldn’t have missed this for the world; but only other mothers will appreciate this.
Hi, I found you from cre8buzz. What a wonderful post. You are a gifted writer…well said.
Lovely, lovely. Beautifully said.
Proud to be in that sorority with you, sister.
Well-done…
No mother is *just* a mom. And yet, the commonalities that we share JUST from being mothers are immense.
Beautiful.
i really looked forward to my second *because* of the middle-of-the-night bonding.
….
but then i was glad to get sleep again.
there is nothing better than mom-hood.
WONDERFUL post.
Had just a moment like that. At about 3:30 this morning.
This has got to be one of the MOST definitive blog posts on Motherhood ever written.
As a mother, I can say this post spoke direct to my core. my very soul. my greatest love. Thank you for the words describing what makes being a mother so wonderful.
Thank you.
wow…all I can say is WOWWWW!!!
you continue to amaze me…
thanks for sharing.
I linked your little story of la la!
I don’t know, I think the Masons might still have you beat.
That might be the greatest blog post I have ever read.
Thanks for making me feel important today, as I stumble around incoherently after another sleepless night while my little guy struggles with 5 new teeth coming in. This post deserves an award.
I am wiping tears off of my key board…this is beautiful!! Do you mind if I share it on my blog? I will link it back to yours.
Great post, very true.
this is beautiful. I, too, had one of these moments last night with my youngest daughter. These moments are why I’ve never needed my babes to sleep through the night. These are indeed the moments that will change the world. They need the same moments as they grow older, don’t they? I think my oldest (now 9) needs them more than ever…
oh, to have those cuddles and snuggle times again. Enjoy a snuggle for me and kiss the baby head that smells so yummy you can’t help but do it again….
Exactly..which is why I never say no to snuggles in the big bed or cuddles on the couch…..we are mom…we are their world!
A lovely post, and thank you for acknowledging we mums work a 24 hour day.
That was just an achingly beautiful post, Brillig. I think I take back my recent “I Hereby Quite-th” post : ) Seriously, this was amazingly written and a privilege to read.
I’ve been reading for a while..
I read that, the stings at my heart tugging while saying “Yes yes yes” to myself.
As all the others before me said. Beautiful.
I came here by way of Shana–thank you for such a poignant, peaceful post. It almost (but didn’t) made me long to go back to holding babies into the night!
By the way–the haircut is perfect! I think it made you look even younger. ~Stacey
Yes. Yes. I remember when my baby was small and sleeping in my room. I would lay awake and watch him, realizing that I was sharing this experience with every mother who has lived and loved since the dawn of time. What an amazing partnership we create together.
I would never have thought that it’s possible to make those three-o’clock-in-the-morning moments look meaningful and glamorous. Beautiful post.
That was truly beautiful! It is always a privilege to care for our children, no matter what time of day or night, or how we’re feeling, or how they’re acting! Always. A. Privilege!
So, so beautiful. I read this last night at one while I was up with my little one and just cried. This is truly the most wonderful, important work we could do. It’s so easy to forget that sometimes.
I came here by way of Jenn from Holland’s Perfect Post award. And you certainly deserve it. This was absolutely beautiful. Such a meaningful post. Brilliant.
Jenn is right. This is a perfect post. It is beautiful. We really are important people, aren’t we, our babies and us?
I live for those moments! Thoughtful post–congratulations on the Perfect Post Award!
that was more than a perfect post.
what a beautiful tribute.
Oh. My. So beautiful.
Thank you for sharing with us these words.
The love you put into your son’s heart will always guide him!
“That best academy, a mother’s knee” .James Russell Lowell
Amen.