Oof, Jenny Raphael gets right to the heart in this week’s Mother Words post.
Last night, Ezra stood on the sofa, arms outstretched for what he calls his Carry. He asked me which one was my bad shoulder, and he settled into my arms for his nightly ride up the stairs. Every night I carry his 62-pound, giraffe-limbed body up the one flight of stairs to his bedroom.
One of these nights – maybe even tonight – will be the last time we do The Carry.
For as long as he’s been alive, I have carried Ezra, who is 8, up the stairs to bed. I used to walk him all the way into his room, and when he was smaller I’d toss him on his bed. I don’t remember how old he was when I stopped tossing him, but over the years his nightly Carry has eroded. We went from the bed toss to placing him down on the bed, then putting him down on the floor near his bed, then just to the door of his room, and these days his ride ends at the top of the stairs.
Most recently, I’ve started taking a break halfway up the stairs to adjust him and take a few breaths. My shoulder – separated in February – jams a little every time he shifts his weight.
Seriously, it’s ridiculous. This can’t continue.
But I’m not quite ready to say goodbye to The Carry.
To read this piece in its entirety, click here.
Jennifer Raphael is writer of as-yet-unpublished fiction, a freelance marketing writer and a blogging balabusta for the Jewish Exponent. Jennifer started her career in journalism, writing for TV news and a suburban newspaper before joining the staff at Philadelphia Magazine. As a freelancer, she has written articles for Glamour, Mademoiselle, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan and Men’s Health, to name a few. You can see more of her work on her website: www.jenniferraphael.com, and join her intimate band of Twitter followers @jenniferaphael. Her weekly parenting blog, Mother Words, can be found at www.jenniferraphael.com. She describes her parenting style as Method.