Heaven Is at the Foot of Your Child

By Maria Mills

The popular hadith says, “Heaven is at the foot of your mother.” I’ve shortened it a bit but we all get the gist of the message. Muhammad was essentially saying, “Moms are the tops and don’t you ever forget that!”

Now that I’m three years into this whole mom thing I’ve decided that in my world, heaven is at the foot of my child. My husband and I have been trying, quite unsuccessfully, to have another child, and with each passing month we grow more and more appreciative of the gift Allah has given us with this one charming soul. We are sure that his presence in our life is a bit of heaven.

The day he was born was definitely the most incredible day of my life. I’m certain I was in heaven that day. I had a beautiful, intense yet painless labor in my home surrounded by the most important people in my life. He had decided to delay his arrival into this world two extra weeks. I guess he figured the food was good, it was warm and the rent was free in there so he wanted to stay. After much anticipation and trying every trick in the book to encourage labor on my own, he was born as I sat submerged in a warm tub of water into my own welcoming hands. He didn’t cry as I lifted him up out of the warm water to my breast. He looked up at me with a hint of recognition in his dark eyes. I said to him, “Now that wasn’t so bad, was it?” His little head, not limp as many newborns tend to be, popped up and looked around the room. I knew from that second that he was ready to take on this world of ours. And take it on he does.

My little slice of heaven has more energy than any human has ever been granted, I’m sure. From the second his little eyes pop open in the morning he is ready to move the world. He doesn’t stop for a second until bedtime comes around. Naps are increasingly becoming a thing of the past. The less he needs a nap the more I need one! But such is the life of a mother. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

It’s simply heavenly to wake up each morning with his smiling face at my side…or sometimes jumping gleefully on the bed singing, “Time to wake up Papa and Mama!” It’s heavenly when I walk through the door at the babysitter’s each afternoon and he comes running across the room yelling, “My Mommy is here, my Mommy is HEERREE!” It’s heavenly to have him crawl up on my lap in the evening asking quietly, “Can I nurse Mommy? Just for a little bit.” I even felt like I was in heaven two nights ago when he brought me a bowl full of herbs and spices all mixed up together and announced, “Mommy, I cooked for you.” It was too thoughtful a gesture on his part for me to even worry about the fact that he had just completely emptied every single bottle in the herb cabinet.

We often shed some tears each month when we discover, yet again, that we aren’t pregnant. But those little pity-parties are typically cut short by the smiles and giggles of a beautiful little boy who needs us and all we can give him. We know we could investigate this secondary infertility we are experiencing, but at this time we feel so blessed that it just doesn’t seem like the right thing to do.

Motherhood has changed my life in a way that I will never be able to fully put into words. I am blessed and I believe that my heaven truly lies at the feet of my child.

Maria Mills is a mother, wife, student and frazzled member of middle management. Occasionally she finds time to escape and write.