SEVENTEEN -- NOSTALGIA

I said that that night was rough because mom kept waking up and turning in bed because she had backaches. But it was also rough because I woke up around 2:00am with beads of sweat on my forehead and chin even though it was warm inside. I had had a bad dream, and I was so scared that I had to stir mom in her sleep so she'd wake up. I wanted her to calm me down, and tell me it was all a dream. It was dark because she had turned off the lights and I was afraid. The lights was one of the things that bothered her so much those days due to her pregnancy. She hated seeing any light at night; it made her very irritable. It must be really frustrating to have a bun in the oven.

When she opened her eyes, she held my hands and prayed. It was one thing she did regularly. She prayed, went to church and took me with her.

She also hugged me, with me avoiding her large stomach for fear of hurting the baby. I told her that I had dreamed that the baby in her stomach died. She prayed against it and tol