All Kinds of Headaches—by Jamie Levine

It’s been a pretty stressful week for me; my summer classes are wrapping up and I’ve been immersed in end-of-semester projects and annoying teacher certification tests (which are completely unrelated to speech-language pathology, but are necessary for me to pass in order to work in a school in September). Unsurprisingly, I’ve also been plagued with migraines. Migraine-suffering has been a part of my life for quite awhile, but natural supplements and occasional doses of prescription medication have kept them manageable for me. Lately, however, they’ve been out-of-control, lingering on for two to three days at a time.

Jayda knows all about my “headaches,” and while I never let them debilitate me when I’m around her (I’ve learned how to function fully while I’m suffering through one), I do sometimes beg off reading bedtime books to her, and opt for television-watching at night, instead. With Jayda happily snuggled on my lap watching “Victorious,” I can close my eyes and quietly cope with the pain. And my considerate kid always does her best to “help” me. The other evening, Jayda asked, “Mommy, do you want me to kiss it where it hurts?” and before I could respond, placed a gentle kiss directly over my right eye—the exact spot where my migraine is always located. Then, she hopped off of my lap and said, “Want me to give you a “mash-age?” and awkwardly rubbed my shoulders and my neck for two minutes before asking, “All better?” and crawling back onto my lap. I appreciated the sentiment, and as any good mother would do, declared myself to be feeling “muuuuuch better now.” And in a way, I was. No matter how miserable I feel physically, sweet moments with Jayda always put things in perspective for me, and make me smile.

When I finally put Jayda in her bed that night, she announced, “Maybe I’ll be a nurse when I grow up!” I responded, “That would be great, Jayda. You’d be a good nurse.” Then she thought for a minute and said, “Nahhhh…I think I’ll be a singer in a band…or maybe a hair-cutting person!” And again, just as any good mother would say, I reassured her, “you can be whatever you want to be—and you’ll be great at it.” But deep-down, I was reminded that motherhood isn’t always perfect, and sometimes children can be the cause of headaches, too. Here’s hoping Jayda changes her mind yet again; maybe she’ll even decide to be a doctor….even a neurologist who can really help her mommy!