My shock and embarrassment at finding Mother in tears on Wednesday was a perfect index of how little I understand the perssures on her.sitting beside her on the couch,I began very slowly to understand.
“I guess we all have to fail sometimes.”Mother said quietly. I could sense her pain and the tension of holding back the strong emotion that were interupted by my arrival . Suddenly, something inside me turned . I reached out and put my arms around her.
She broke then , she put her face against my shoulder and sobbed.I held her close and didn’t try to talk . I knew I was doing what I should , what I could , and that it was enough.In that moment,feeling mother’s back racked with emotion,I understand fou the first time her vulnerability.she was still my mother,but she was something more:a person like me,capable of fera and hurt and failure.I could feel her pain as she must have felt mine on a thousand occasions when I had sought comfort in her arms.