Find all of my 31 Moments of Motherhood posts here.
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[Lights come up on a woman laying on her side on the floor, toys scattered around her. She is pregnant, and her eyes are closed.]
Me
“Honey? Can you come over and play by Mommy, please? Where I can see you?”
[She opens her eyes, lifts her head to try and see her daughter without getting up. She quickly puts her head back down.]
Me
“Ohh….that wasn’t good.”
[To daughter offstage] “It’s okay, honey. Mommy is just tired today.”
[To audience] “Tired? The word doesn’t even begin to describe the sick, exhausted, nauseous, uncomfortable feeling that I’m having. I don’t know if this pregnancy is worse or it’s just more noticeable next to the unlimited energy of my 18 month old. Not sure which one…”
[Crash in background. She pops her head up again.]
Me
“What was that, honey? You dumped out the glitter? Awesome.”
[She slowly gets to her knees, pausing for a moment with her head down, collecting herself.]
Me
“The moment that the nausea started with this second pregnancy, I knew that things were going to be different this time around. Who knew that the luxury of taking care of only yourself while pregnant would seem so sweet…in retrospect? I suppose it is like every stage of your life…like I can’t seem to comprehend what in the world I did with all my spare time before I had kids. And now? I think I better enjoy these last moments being able to focus on just her…before there is two.”
[She stands up, slowly and smiles, looking offstage to her daughter.]
Me
“Glitter girl? Here I come…”