THE ARTS
CYCLES MOTHER AND CHILD By Maya Apostoloska
F
inally, I can have a proper shower. All my children are sleeping now.
The last days have been busy for me, and I also have an infection in my eye. Last Friday, after I dropped off my children at school, I went to buy more diapers for my two youngest children. They had used all the reserves in three days because of their upset stomachs. I had no sleep at all, checking them constantly and changing diapers and bedsheets during the nights. I also felt a sorrowful pain in my left eye and had no time to check it out. In the shop where I bought the diapers, my friend Asta advised me to take my eye seriously as it looked swollen and smaller than the other eye. I had no time for that now. Where am I going to find time for that? But if I feel no good, I cannot take care of the children. So, I parked in front of the apothecary, who then asked me for a prescription for the eye drops. I called my GP and organised it quickly. Unfortunately, it didn’t help. After my shower tonight, I applied for the second time today, drops of my breast milk in the eye. It felt very sticky. I have been breastfeeding for the last eight years. I breastfed my three children for approximately two and a half years each. My youngest for three and a half years so far. We only stopped a week ago and still have that need to hug and be very close to each other, though. 48 | eYs Magazine, Summer 2021
I am happy I didn’t stop him earlier. I also wouldn’t be able to use the mother’s milk in my eye. After two applications, my eye miraculously healed. Reflecting at a point in my life when the canvas on the open-cinema stage had fallen, I was very critical, and several people rushed to help. I thought about how important it was to react humanly to things and am less judgemental these days. I feel more. Asta had reacted humanly toward me and reminded me I should take care of myself as well. Motherhood; is the experience of having or raising a child. It has the same effect of adventure and spontaneity as childbirth, and every mother is a heroine in my eyes. Being a mother has taught me the purest lessons in my life. My children are my universe. My children were conceived with a lot of complications and suffered during my pregnancy. I kept them to take care of them. I will grow and protect them until one day I leave them alone to stand on their own two feet and let them get up and walk through their life on their own. I promised that when I let them go, I will make sure they know I will always be here for them. I will always have their mind and heart with me. Upbringing children requires time and nerves, and especially dedication and patience. As I get older, I slowly realise how much
